COLORADO    STATE 


FORESTRY  ASSOCIATION. 


ORGANIZED    NOVEMBER    i9TH,   1884. 


c^-&*se 


Arapahoe  County. 
El  Paso  County  - 
Larimer  County-. 
Weld  County 


PRESIDENT, 

EDGAK  T.  ENSIGN,  COLORADO  SPRINGS. 

VICE    PRESIDENTS, 

G.  G.  MERRICK Denver. 

GEO.  H.   PARSONS Colorado  Springs 

JAMES  CASSIDY Fort  Collins. 

RALPH  MEEKER Greeley. 


SECRETARY, 

WILLIAM  E.  PABOR,  FRUITA. 

TREASURER, 

A.  E.  GIPSON,  GREELEY. 

BOARD     OF     MANAGERS, 

W.  N.  BYERS,        W.  W.  PARDEE,        WM.  DAVIS,        W.  D.  ARNETT, 
And  the  President,  Secretary  arid  Treasurer. 


DENVER,  COLORADO : 

THE    REPUBLICAN   PUBLISHING  COMPANY,   PRINTERS. 


1884. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  BY-LAWS. 


ADOPTED   NOV.    19-20,   1884. 


Article  1.  This  association  shall  be  known 
as  the  Colorado  State  Forest  y  Association. 
Art.  2.  Its  object  shall  be  the  preservation 
and  cultivation  of  trees  in  this  State. 
•  Art.  3.  Its  membership  shall  consist  of 
annual  members,  paying  an  annual  fee  of 
one  dollar,  in  advance,  of  life  members  pay- 
ing a  fee  of  ten  dollars  at  one  time,  and  of 
honorary  members,  who  shall  be  persons  of 
distinguished  merit  in  forestry,  and  shall  be 
elected  to  membership  by  a  vote  of  the  asso- 
ciation. 

Art.  4.  It  shall  hold  an  annual  meeting 
on  the  second  Tuesday  of  January,  in  each 
year,  at  Denver,  unless  otherwise  ordered,  at 
the  regulur  meeting  of  the  association. 

Art.  5.  The  officers  of  the  Association  shall 
bo  a  President,  a  Vice  President  from  each 
ceunty,  a  Secretary,  and  a  Treasurer.  With 
the  exception  of  the  Vice  Presidents,  they 
shall  be  elected  at  each  annual  meeting  of 
the  association,  and  shall  hold  their  office  for 
one  year,  or  until  their  successors  shall  be 
elected.  The  Vice  Presidents  shall  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  President. 

Art.  6.  The  affairs  of  the  Association  shall 
be  under  the  control  of  a  Board  of  Managers, 
consisting  of  the  President, '  the  Secretary, 
the  Treasurer,  and  four  other  members  of  the 
Association,  who  shall  be  elected  at  each 
annual  meeting,  and  shall  hold  their  office 
for  one  year,  or  until  their  successors  shall 
be  elected.  They  shall  have  the  power  to 
fill  any  vacancies  occurring  in  the  Board  be- 
tween the  annual  meetings  of  the  Associa- 
tion, and  any, officer  so  appointed  shall  hold 
his  office  until  the  next  succeeding  annual 
meeting,  or  until  a  successor  shall  be  elected 
by  the  Association.  .  •  * . 

Art.  7.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  th'e  Presi- 
dent to  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  Board^ 
and  Association,  call  special  jrne.}th?;gs;deCiaV 
all  points  of  order  there  may  arise  subject -to 
customary  laws,  and  have  general  supervision 
over  the  affairs  of  the  Association. 

Art.  8.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Vice- 
Presidents,  in  alphabetical  order  of  their 


countk is,  to  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  As- 
sociation during  the  absence  of  the  President 
or  his  inability  to  act;  to  call  conventions  in 
their  counties;  to  form  associations  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  out  the  objects  of  this 
Association,  &nd  to  report  at  each  annual 
meeting. 

Art.  9.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary 
to  record  the  proceedings  of  the  meetings  of 
the  Board  and  the  Association,  and  to  take 
charge  of  all  documents  and  papers  belonging 
to  his  office  as  Secretary;  to  audit  the  ac- 
counts of  the  Treasurer,  certify  to  the  cor- 
rectness thereof,  and  present  the  same  to  the 
association  annually;  to  transact  all  business 
of  the  association  requiring  transmittal  by 
mail  and  make  an  annual  report  to  the  Asso- 
ciation. 

Art.  10.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Treas- 
urer to  receive  and  disburse  all  moneys  of 
the  Association  under  the  direction  of  the 
Board,  and  to  submit  his  accounts,  with  pro- 
per vouchers  in  writing  at  least  ten  days 
previous  to  each  annual  meeting  to  the  Secre- 
tary, to  be  audited  and  approved  by  him. 

Art.  11.  If,  at  any  meeting  of  the  Board,  it 
shall  appear  that  the  Piesident  is  absent, 
then  the  meeting  may  choose  a  President  pro 
tern,  as  alse  in  the  absence  of  the  Secretary,  a 
Secretary  pro  tern  may  be  chosen. 

Art.  12.  A  resolution  signed  by  a  majority 
of  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Managers 
shall  be  considered  valid  and  in  full  force, 
the  same  as  though  passed  at  a  regular  meet- 
ing of  the  Board. 

Art.  13.  This  Constitution  may  by  amended 
at  any  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  by 
a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  members  present. 

ARTICLE  14— ORDER  OF   BUSINESS. 

-1.  .Ee&ding  and  approval  of  minutes. 
2.  Report  of  the  President. 
;  3.  Report'of.  the  Secretary. 
4.  Report  of«  committees. 
5!  "Unfinished  business. 

6.  New  business. 

7.  Election  of  officers  and  members  of  the 
Board  of  Managers,  new  members  and  honor- 
ary members  of  the  Society. 


FIRST  DAYS  SESSION. 


The  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
State  Forestry  Association,  was  convened 
November  19th,  at  10  a.  m.  at  the  State 
House.  The  attendance  was  not  so  large  as 
was  expected,  but  there  were  a  number  of 
enthusiastic  and  energetic  men  present — just 
such  men  as  are  needed  in  launching,  and 
perfecting  such  a,n  organization. 

Colonel  E.  T.  Ensign  called  the  meeting  to 
order,  read  the  call,  and  made  a  few  remarks 
on  the  general  suject  of  forestry. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Pabor,  of  Fruita,  moved  that 
Hon.  W.  N.  Byers  be  chosen  temporary 
Chairman,  and  the  motion  prevailed.  Mr. 
Pabor  was  then  made  temporary  Secretary, 
aad  on  motion  of  Mr.  Ensign,  the  temporary 
organization  was  made  permanent. 

The  meeting  was  then  declared  ready  for 
business,  and  Sir.  G.  H.  Parsons  offered  the 
following  .resolution: 

ftesol&d,  That  a  Colorado  State  Forestry 
Association  be  formed,  and  chat  a  committee 
of  three  be  appointed  by  the  Chair  to  draw 
up  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  and  report  at 
the  afternoon  session. 

The  resolution  was  adopted,  and  the  Chair 
appointed  the  following  gentlemen  on  the 
committee:  Messrs.  George  H.  Parsons,  W. 
D.  Arnett  and  W.  W.  Pardee. 

The  following  committee  was  then  ap- 
pointed on  order  of  business:  Messrs.  E.  T. 
Ensign,  G.  G.  Merrick  and  E.  G.  Perkins. 

A  recess  was  taken  for  ten  minutes,  pend- 
ing the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Order  of 
Business,  and  when  the  meeting  was  again 
called  to  order,  the  committee  submitted  the 
following  report : 

1.  Reading  of  minutes  of  last  meeting. 

2.  Reports  of  committees. 

3.  New  business,  resolutions,  etc. 

4.  Unfinished  business. 

The  report  was  adopted  and  the  meeting 
then  adjourned  until  2  o'clock  p.  in. 

Afternoon  Session. 

At  2  o'clock  the  meeting  was  again  called 
to  order  by  Chairman  Byers  and,  for  the 
edification  of  those  who  were  not  present  at 
the  morning  session,  the  minutes  thereof 
were  read. 


Mr.  Parsons,  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Constitution  and  By-laws,  read  his  report, 
which  was  adopted  seriatim,  with  few  chan- 
ges. 

The  committee  having  failed  to  provide 
by-laws,  was  instructed  to  prepare  such  as 
were  necessary,  and  submit  them  at  this 
morning's  session. 

OTHER   BUSINESS. 

Mr.  J.  M.  Clark  of  the  State  Horticultural 
Society,  offered  to  furnish  cloth-bound  copies 
of  the  report  of  the  State  Horticultural  So- 
ciety for  the  years  1882,  1883  and  1884,  to 
members  of  the  Forestry  Association,  and  a 
vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  the  gentleman 
for  the  courtesy. 

A  letter  from  Mrs.  A.  L.  Washburne,  of 
Fort  Collins,  containing  some  suggestions 
concerning  the  formation  of  the  Association, 
was  read  by  Mr.  E.  T.  Ensign  and  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Board  of  Managers. 

Mr.  A.  E.  Gipson  was  appointed  tempora- 
ry treasurer  of  the  organization,  and  re- 
ceived the  initiation  from  those  who  wished 
to  become  members  of  the  organization. 

MEMBERS   OF   THE  ASSOCIATION. 


The  following  persons  paid  their  initiation 
and  were  enrolled  as  members  of  the  associ- 
ation :  George  H.  Parsons,  Colorado  Springs; 
William  N.  Byers,  Denver;  W.  E.  Pabor, 
Fruita ;  E.  T.  Ensign,  Colorado  Springs ; 
W.  W.  Pardee,  Denver ;  Wm.  Davis,  High- 
lands ;  G.  G.  Merrick,  Denver ;  E.  G.  Per- 
kins, Colorado  Springs;  Ralph  Meeker, 
Greeley ;  A.  E.  Gipson,  Greeley ;  James 
Cassidy,  Fort  Collins  ;  Mrs.  Olive  Wright, 
Denver;  W.  D.  Arnett,  Morrison. 

The  Association  proceeded  to  the  election 
of  officers  with  the  following  result : 

President — E.  T.  Ensign,  of  Colorado 
Springs. 

Secretary — Wm.  E.  Pabor,  of  Fruita. 

Treasurer — A.  E.  Gipson,  of  Geeeley. 

Board  of  Managers — W.  D.  Arnett,  of 
Jefferson  county ;  Wm.  N.  Byers,  of  Grand 
county ;  Wm.  Davis,  of  Bent  county ;  W. 
W.  Pardee,  of  Arapahoe  county. 


M43377 


FIRST  DAYS  SESSION. 


All  the  abp-ve  officers  were  elected   by  ac- 


On  taking  the  chair  Mr.  Ensign  thanked 
the  members  for  the  honor  which  had  been 
conferred  upon  him,  and  spoke  of  the  legis- 
lation necessary  to  forward  the  objects  of  the 
Association. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Meeker  the  Association 
tendered  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Byers  for 
the  satisfactory  manner  in  which  he  had 
presided. 

Mr.  Pabor  stated  that  an  arrangement 
had  been  made  with  with  THE  TRIBUNE- 
EEPUBLICAN  to  publish  the  proceedings  at 
a  very  small  cost.  He  suggested  that  some 
one  be  empowered  to  attend  to  the  matter 
for  the  Association. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Meeker,  Messrs.  W.  E. 
Pabor,  W.  N.  Byers  and  Kalph  Meeker 
were  appointed  a  Committee  on  Printing 
for  this  purpose. 

Mr.  Pabor  moved  that  the  consideration 
of  the  bill,  which  it  was  proposed  to  submit 
to  the  Legislature,  be  made  the  first  order 
after  the  reading  of  the  minutes  at  the  ses- 
sion to-day,  which  begins  at  9  o'clock  a.  m. 
The  motion  prevailed  and  the  Association 
then  adjourned  until  7:30  o'clock  at  night. 
^  The  bills,  which  it  is  proposed  to  con- 
sider, provide  for  the  appointment  by  the 
State  authorities,  of  Forest  Commissioners, 
to  look  after  the  forest  trees  in  the  State. 

Night  Session. 

The  night  session  of  the  Association  was 
called  to  order  by  President  Ensign  about 
7:45  o'clock.  The  reading  of  the  minutes 
was  suspended. 

President  Ensign  announced  that  if  there 
was  any  matter  of  business  that  was  to  be 
attended  to,  it  would  be  well  to  take  it  up 
the  first  thing. 

Mr.  W.  N.  Byers  said  that  as  he  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  city  to-day,  he  would 
like,  if  the  Association  'would  indulge  him, 
to  say  something  on  the  subject  of  the  bills 
which  are  to  be  presented  to  the  Legislature 
and  which  are  to  be  the  subject  of  discussion 
to-day. 

No  objection  being  offered,  Mr.  Byers  said 
that  the  bills  apparently  contemplated  only 
the  preservation  of  the  timber  on  State  anc 
United  States  land.  He  alluded  to  the  man 
ner  in  which  timber  was  wasted  upon  the 
public  domain,  and  said  that  he  thought  the 
land  should  be  divided  into  160-acre  tracts 
or  some  suitable  body,  and  individuals  al 
lowed  to  purchase  the  right  to  use  the  tim 
ber  upon  the  land  and  to  work  the  surface 


ut  leave  all  the  title  tp  mineral  deposits  in 

he  Government,  so  that  the  public  might 

ave  access  to  them,  and  when  mineral  was 

ocated   the  damage  done  to  the  owner  of 

he  surface  was  to  be  made  good  by  the  mi- 

ler.     He  did   not  think  the   present   bill 

would  serve  the  purpose  intended,  but  if 

his  individual   ownership  was   established 

imber  would  be  protected. 

"TREE  PLANTING  IN  COLORADO." 

Following  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Byers,  Mr. 
jeorge  H.  Parsons  read  a  paper  on  "  Tree 
Planting  in  Colorado.  He  addressed  him- 
self to  the  trees  best  adapted  to  growth  in 
his  State,  and  described  the  character  of 
welve  trees  which  had  been  found  to  grow 
•apidly,  and  which  were  exceedingly  ser- 
dceable,  not  only  as  factors  in  climatic  con- 
ditions, but  in  manufactures.  These  trees 
were,  taking  the  common  name,  the  West- 
;rn  Catalpa,  the  White  Ash,  the  White  Elm, 
he  Cottonwood,  the  Balm  of  Gilead,  the 
,sh  Leaved  Maple,  the  Honey  Locust,  the 
Yellow  or  Black  Locust,  the  Russian  Mul- 
)erry,  the  White  or  Silvery  Maple,  the  Red 
Cedar,  the  White  or  Gray  Willow. 

The  paper  was  listened  to  with  great  in- 
terest and  at  its  close  Mr.  W.  E.  Pabor  read 
an  essay  on  "  Forestry  in  Colorado."  The 
paper  dealt  with  the  uses  of  forests  in  mak- 
ng  the  country  habitable  and  showed  the 
jlighting  effects  of  denuding  land  of  its 
woodland  growth.  The  influence  of  forests 
on  the  rainfall  in  this  State  was  noticed  and 
it  appeared  from  statistics  that  the  rainfall 
had  decreased  since  the  wanton  and  whole- 
sale destruction  of  forests  began. 

"THE  USE  AND  BEAUTY  OF  FORESTS." 

Mr.  Ralph  Meeker,  editor  of  the  Greeley 
Tribune,  followed  with  a  well-written  essay 
on  "  The  Use  and  Beauty  of  Forests."  The 
essay  considered  the  manifold  uses  to  which 
timber  is  put  in  civilized  lands  and  dwell 
at  length  on  the  beauty  which  a  fine  growth 
of  trees  gave  to  the  landscape.  For  these  rea- 
sons he  urged  the  preservation  of  the  forests. 
Following  this  Prof.  James  Cassidy,  of 
Fort  Collins,read  a  long  paper  on  "Forestry." 
It  was  an  exceedingly  interesting  document, 
showing  great  scientific  research  and  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  action  of  the  various 
civilized  nations  concerning  their  forests. 

Mr.  W.  D.  Arnett,  of  Morrison,  spoke  of 
the  various  processes  which  would  make 
timber  more  lasting,  and  said  this  was  a  fact 
which  should  be  agitated.  This,  he  thought, 
would  be  a  move  to  preserve  the  forest  trees. 
The  meeting  then  adjourned. 


SECOND  DAYS  SESSION. 


The  second  day's  session  of  the  Colorado 
State  Forestry  Association  began  Thursday 
morning  at  10  o'clock  at  the  rooms  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  Quite  a  number  of  persons 
interested  in  the  subject  were  present  and 
the  session  was  very  interesting. 

President  Ensign  called  the  meeting  to  or- 
der, and  it  was  decided  to  dispense  with  the 
reading  of  the  minutes  of  previous  sessions. 

Mr.  G.  H.  Parsons,  from  the  Coi  vmittee  on 
Constitution  and  By-Laws,  reported  an  order 
of  business,  which  was  incorporated  as  purt 
of  the  Constitution  and  By-laws. 

At  the  session  on  Wednesday  it  was  de- 
cided to  make  the  consideration  of  a  forestry 
bill,  to  be  submitted  to  the  next  Legislature, 
the  special  object  of  the  meeting  after  the 
reading  of  the  minutes,  but  this  order  was 
suspended  so  as  to  permit  of  the  reading  of 
papers  which  had  been  specially  prepared  for 
the  meeting. 

INTERESTING  PAPEES. 

The  first  paper  read  was  by  Mr.  W.  W. 
Pardee,  on  the  subject  of  "  Suggested  Legis- 
lation Concerning  Forestry."  The  paper  re- 
lated solely  to  appropriate  legislation  to  pre- 
serve the  forests. 

Mr.  Pabor,  the  secretary,  read  a  paper  con- 
tributed by  Mrs.  A.  L.  Washburn,  of  Love- 
land,  on  "A  Woman's  View  of  Forestry." 

This  was  followed  by  a  paper  read  by 
President  Ensign  and  written  by  Posey  S. 
Wilson,  of  Fort  Collins. 

The  following  excellent  papers  were  then 
read  by  Secretary  Pabor,  ''Tree  Planting 
on  Farms,"  written  by  J.  H.  Berry  of  Fruita; 
by  the  President,  a  letter  commenting  on  the 
proposed  bill  for  presentation  to  the  General 
Assembly,  written  by  E.  Q.  Tenny  of  Fort 
Collins ;  by  the  Secretary,  "Nut  Trees,"  writ- 
ten by  H.  B.  Snyder  of  Colorado  Springs ;  by 
the  President,  letters  from  David  Bpyd  and 
Valentine  De  Vinney  on  the  subject  of  for- 
estry legislation.  This  concluded  the  read- 
ing of  papers  and  communications. 

The  President  announced  the  appointment 
of  the  following  Vice-Presidents :  G.  G.  Mer- 
rick,  Arapahoe  County;  G.  H.  Parsons,  El 
Paso  County;  James  Cassidy.  Larimer  County; 
Kalph  Meeker  of  Weld  County. 

The  Society  then  took  up  the  proposed  bill 
to  be  submitted  to  the  General  Assembly  and 
it  was  fully  discussed  by  Messrs.  Ensign,  Pa- 


bor, Gipson,  Merrick,  Pardee  and  others.  The 
draft  of  the  bill  as  finally  adopted  is  as  fol- 
ows : 

TEXT  OF  THE  BILL. 

AN  ACT  Relating, to  Woodlands  and  Forestry;  to 
Establish  the  Office  of  Forest  Commissioners  of 
the  State  of  Colorado,  and  to  Provide  for  the 
Expense  thereof. 

SECTION  1.  All  lands  now  owned  or  con- 
tiolled,  or  which  may  be  hereafter  owned  or 
controlled  by  the  State  of  Colorado,  and  which 
were  originally,  are  now,  or  shall  hereafter 
be  covered  with  forest  growth,  or  devoted  to 
forest  uses  are,  for  the  purposes  of  this  act, 
declared  to  be  woodlands. 

SEC.  2.  No  such  lands  shall,  after  the  pas- 
sage of  this  act,  be  leased.  They  shall  not  be 
sold  except  by  the  authority  of  the  General 
Assembly,  upon  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  mem- 
bers elected  to  each  House.  Subject  to  such 
laws  and  regulations  as  may  be  provided 
therefor  by  the  Forestry  Commissioners,  such 
timber  and  wood  as  can  be  taken  from  said 
lands,  consistent  with  forest  preservation  and 
growth,  may,  at  a  fair  valuation,  be  sold,  and 
the  proceeds  of  such  sales  be  immediately 
converted  into  the  State  Treasury. 

SEC.  3.  By  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Senate,  the  Governor  shall  appoint  as 
Commissioners  three  suitable  persons  skilled 
in  matters  relating  to  forestry,  all  of  whom 
shall  be  residents  and  citizens  of  this  State, 
and  who  shall  constitute  and  be  known  as  the 
"Forest  Commissioners  of  the  State  of  Colo- 
rado." The  said  Commissioners  shall  be 
taken  respectively  from  different  locations  in 
the  State,  in  a  manner  to  best  subserve  the 
public  interests,  and  they  shall  hold  office  for 
two.  four  and  six  years  respectively,  and 
until  their  respective  successors  shall  be  duly 
appointed  and  confirmed.  Hereafter  there 
shall  be  appointed  in  the  same  manner,  every 
two  years,  one  Forest  Commissioner,  whose 
term  of  office  shall  be  six  years;  due  regard 
being  had  to  the  place  of  residence  of  the 
appointee,  as  above  indicated. 

SEC.  4.  Each  Forest  Commissioners  shall 
receive  a  compensation  of  $5  for  each  day 
actually  employed  in  service  as  Commis- 
sioner, and  his  reasonable  f  and  necessary 
traveling  expenses.  iSueh  t  Commissioner 
shall,  at  the  expense  of  the  JState,  be  pro- 


6 


SECOND   DAYS  SESSION. 


vided  with  an  office   at  the  Capital,  where 
their  official  records  shall  be  kept. 

SEC.  5.  The  said  Forest  Commissioners 
shall  have  the  care  and  custody  of  all  wood- 
lands now  owned  or  controlled  or  which  may 
be  hereafter  owned  or  controlled  by  the 
State.  They  shall  cause  all  such  lands  to  be 
located  and  duly  recorded,  and  shall  make 
aad  publish  reasonable  rules  and  regula- 
tions for  the  prevention  of  trespass  upon  paid 
lands,  for  the  prevention  and  extinguishing 
of  fires  thereon,  and  for  the  conservation  of 
forest  growth.  They  shall  also,  so  far  as 
possible,  promote  the  gradual  extension  of 
the  forest  area,  encourage  the  planting  of 
trees,  and  preserve  the  sources  of  water  sup- 
ply. They  shall  attend  to  the  selling  of 
timber  and  wood  from  such  lands,  whenever 
such  selling  shall  be  deemed  expedient,  and 
shall  make  due  account  of  such  sales  and  the 
proceeds  aris-ing  therefrom.  On  or  before 
the  15th  day  of  December  in  each  year,  they 
shall  report  to  the  Governor  their  official 
action  during  the  preceding  year,  and  such 
information  as  may  be  useful  in  preserving 
the  forests  of  the  State  and  maintaining  the 
supply  of  water. 

SEC.  6.  In  addition  to  the  powers  and 
duties  attaching  to  the  offices  of  County  Com- 
missioners and  Road  Overseers  in  the  coun- 
ties of  ta? is  State,  sach  Commissioners  and 
overseers  shall  act  as  conservators  of  wood- 
lands in  their  respective  localities,  and  shall 
enforce  the  laws  and  regulations  made  for  the 
protection  and  preservation  of  such  woodlands. 
Said  County  Commissioners  shall,  also,  to  the 
extent  of  their  power,  encourage  the  planting 
of  trees  along  water  courses  and  irrigating 
ditches  and  in  other  proper  places:  shall  fur- 
nish information  to  the  Forestry  Commis- 
sioners as  they  may  from  time  to  time  re- 
quire, and  report  their  official  actsj  to  them 
on  or  before  the  first  day  of  December  of  each 
year. 

SEC.  7.  It  is  made  the  special  duty  of  all 
forest  officers  of  the  State  to  exercise  the  ut- 
most care  and  vigilance  in  the  prevention  anu 
extinguishment  of  fires  within  the  State 
likelv  to  endanger  or  destroy  forest  growth, 
and  to  apprehend  any  persons  who  may  be 
guilty  of  causing  such  fires;  and  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  duties,  such  officers  may 
call  to  their  aid  such  person  or  persons,  with- 
in the  State,  as  they  may  deem  necessary. 
All  forest  officers  and  all  peace  officers  within 
the  State  are  empowered  and  required  to  ar- 
rest any  and  all  persons  found  trespassing 
upon  the  woodlands  of  the  State,  or  by  un- 
lawful cutting  or  destroying  timber  thereon, 
or  setting  fire  in  a  manner  to  endanger  such 
woodlands;  and  shall  cause  actions  to  be  in- 
stituted in  courts  of  proper  jurisdiction  to 
punish  violators  of  the  forestry  laws  of  the 


State.  In  all  matters  pertaining  to  wood- 
lands and  forests,  the  district  officers  shall  be 
subject  to  the  county  forest  officers  of  their 
respective  counties,  and  all  shall  be  subord- 
inate to  the  Forest  Commissioners  of  the 
State,  in  their  individual  or  collective  ca- 
pacity. 

SEC.  8.  For  the  time  actually  occupied  in 
the  performance  of  duties  imposed  by  this 
act,  the  said  County  Commissioners  shall  re- 
ceive additional  pay  in  the  same  manner  and 
at  the  same  rate  per  diem  as  is  allowed  by 
existing  laws.  The  said  Road  Overseers,  for 
services  rendered  under  this  act,  shall  be 
paid.by  their  respective  counties  at  the  rate 
of  $3  per  day. 

SEC.  9.  No  person  who  is  directly  or  indi- 
rectly engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber, 
or  railroad  ties,  or  telegraph  poles,  or  any 
business  which  requires  a  large  consumption 
of  growing  timber  or  wood,  shall  be  qualified 
to  serve  as  a  Forest  Commissioner  under  this 
act. 

SEC.  10.  The  sum  of  -  -  dollars,  or 

so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  is 
hereby  appropriated  for  the  purposes  of  this 
act.  , 

Sec.  11.  All  acts  and  parts  of  acts  incon- 
sistent with  the  provisions  of  this  act  are 
hereby  repealed. 

Sec.  12.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  General 
Assembly  that  an  emergency  exists,  there- 
fore this  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force 
from  and  after  its  passage. 

The  Association  then  adjourned  until  2 
o'clock  p.  m. 

Afternoon  Session. 

The  Association  was  convened  again  at  2:30 
o'clock,  President  Ensign  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  Parson's  moved  that  the  bill  drafted 
by  the  Association  be  referred  to  the  Board'  of 
Managers,  with  the  following  instructions, 
proposed  by  Mr,  Pardee:  "That  tae  Board 
of  Managers  be  instructed  to  present  to,  and 
urge  upon  the  next  General  Assembly  of  the 
State,  the  adoption  of  the  Forestry.  Act  pro- 
posed by  this  Association  this  day,  and  the 
passage  of  such  other  act  or  acts  as  will  sub- 
serve and  carry  out  the  objects  of  this  Asso- 
ciation; and  to  also  urge  upon  Congress  the 
enactment  of  such  laws  as  will  give  Colorado 
the  control  of  the  woodlands  in  Colorado  be- 
longing to  the  General  Government,  or  such 
legislation  by  Congress  as  will  protect  the 
forests  of  the  public  domain  in  Colorado 
from  destruction  and  waste,  and  will  encour- 
age the  planting  and  cultivation  of  trees  in 
this  State," 

FORESTRY   DOCUMENTS. 

The    Secretary    announced    that    he    had 


SECOND   DAYS  SESSION. 


written  to  Senator  Hill  for  documents  on  for- 
estry, published  by  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, and  the  Senator  had  secured  a  quan- 
tity of  these  documents  which  he  would  fur- 
nish to  members  who  would  call  on  him  at 
his  office,  in  the  Cheesman  block. 

A  communication  from  a  German  Forester 
was  referred  to  the  Secretary  for  incorpora- 
tion in  the  minutes  as  he  saw  fit. 

Mr.  Pardee  moved  that  when  the  Associa- 
tion adjourn,  it  be  to  meet  in  Denver  on  the 
second  Tuesday  in  January,  1885. 

The  motion  was  adopted  and  Messrs.  Par- 
dee  and  Davis  of  the  Board  of  Managers 
were  instructed  to  make  such  arrangements 
for  the  meeting  as  were  necessary. 

COUNTY  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Mr.  Merrick  introduced  a  resolution  re- 
quiring the  Secretary  to  prepare  instruc- 
tions for  the  guidance  of  persons  organizing 
Forestry  Associations  in  the  various  counties 
in  order  to  secure  uniformity  in  these  orga- 
nizations. The  resolution  was  adopted. 

Mr.  Parsons  introduced  a  resolution  which 
was  adopted,  requiring  the  Vice  Presidents 
appointed  in  each  county  to  circulate  peti- 
tio'ns  urging  the  Legislature  to  pass  the  for- 
estry bill  drafted  by  the  State  Association. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Meeker,  a  vote  of  thanks 
was  tendered  to  Secretary  of  State  Edwards 
and  Superior  Court  Clerk  Miller  for  the  use 
of  the  court  room  for  the  sessions  of  the  As- 
sociation. 

The  body  then  adjourned  until  next  Jan- 
uary. 


PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  THE  SOCIETY. 

CONCERNING  TREE  PLANTING. 


[By  Geo.  H.  Parsons,  of  Colorado  Springs.] 
The  science  of  forestry  is  divided  into  two 
branches — forest  preservation  and  tree  cul- 
ture. Of  these  divisions  the  former  is  with- 
out doubt  the  most  important,  and  of  vital 
importance  to  the  people  of  Colorado.  The 
most  generous  planting  of  tress  will  never 
compensate  for  the  hundredth  part  of  the 
forest  that  is  now  being  destroyed  by  acci- 
dent or  for  commercial  purposes.  At  the 
same  time  forest  preservation  is  a  most  com- 
plex problem,  difiicult  of  solution,  and  has 
practically  baffled  all  efforts  heretofore  made 
to  carry  it  to  a  successful  issue.  At  the  Ameri- 
can Forestry  Congress,  held  last  September  at 
Saratoga,  it  might  well  have  been  expected 
that  some  practical  method  for  preserving 
the  forests  would  be  suggested.  But  there 
was  not.  In  fact,  very  little  of  value  was 
contributed  to  human  knowledge  on  this 
subject.  Tolerably  familiar  facts  were  well 
emphasized,  but  no  remedy  suggested.  There 


may  be  no  remedy.  The  United  States  Gov- 
ernment may  not  be  able  or  willing  to  take 
any  action,  and  the  State  Governments  may 
be  too  ignorant  or  indifferent.  The  people 
themselves  may  lack  sufficient  intelligence 
or  be  unwilling  to  stir  themselves  in  matl  srs 
which  do  not  directly  affect  their  po  cts 
and  comforts.  But  I  am  more  hopeful. 

WHAT*CAN  BE  ACCOMPLISHED. 

The  people  can  be  educated  to  see  the 
necessity  of  decisive  action,  and  can  force 
their  Legislatures  to  frame  suitable  laws  and 
garry  them  out  faithfully.  The  States  can  so 
unite  as  to  compel  the  central  Government  to 
adopt  energetic  measures  for  the  preservation 
of  their  forests.  All  this  will  require  much 
work  and  many  years,  but  it  must  be  always 
remembered  as  the  main  object  of  this  Asso- 
ciation, whose  efforts  should  be  continually 
exerted  to  this  end,  until  the  plains  are 
dotted  with  groves  and  the  mountains  covered 
with  forests. 

Until  this  great  problem  of  forestry  is 
solved,  the  only  means  of  making  good  our 
losses  to  any  degree  is  by  tree-culture. 
This  is  a  subject  plain,  straightforward 
and  simple,  easily  understood  and  practiced 
by  all.  It  has  attracted  much  attention  in 
all  the  States,  but  less  in  Colorado  than  any 
other,  although  its  need  is  perhaps  greater 
on  our  plains  and  mountains  than  anywhere 
else.  Trees  are  needed  here  to  check  the 
rapid  evaporation  from  the  ground,  and  to 
protect  it  from  the  dry  scorching  effect  of  the 
sun  at  this  altitude;  to  increase  the  humidity 
of  the  atmosphere;  to  break  the  force  of  the 
heavy  destructive  winds  that  sweep  over  the 
plains,  and  to  keep  up  the  flow  of  our 
streams  in  the  dry  season.  Our  climate 
would  be  warmer  in  the  winter  and  cooler  in 
summer,  and  crops  more  easily  raised,  if 
the  plains  were  well  supplied  with  trees. 
I  believe  nothing  can  be  now  done  which 
will  benefit  Colorado  more  than  tree  culture; 
and,  in  the  furtherance  of  this  good  cause, 
each  land  owner  can  do  his  part,  and  has  his 
duty  to  perform.  I  say  duty,  because  that  is 
the  highest  prompter  of  any  action;  to  forget, 
and  even  sacrifice,  our  own  interests,  that 
our  children,  and  our  children's  children, 
may  be  benefited.  Government,  as  the  trus- 
tee of  future  proprietors,  is  bound  to  take  all 
action,  which  may  be  necessary,  to.  secure 
them  their  rights,  among  which  is  the  enjoy- 
ment of  their  inheritance,  with  its  product- 
iveness wholly  unimpaired.  But  the  people 
are  primarily  the  Government  of  this  coun- 
try, and  it  is  their  duty — it  is  the  duty  of 
each  individual,  io  the  highest  sense — to  so 
employ  his  stewardship,  that  future  genera- 
tions may  bless,  not  curse  him. 

Besides  this  duty  that  rests  heavily  upon 
each  landholder,  there  are  also  the  more  self- 


8 


SECOND   DAYS   SESSION. 


ish  motives  of  profit  aud  pleasure.  Of  these 
little  need  be  said  here.  Much  has  he  lost 
who  never  felt  the  pleasure  of  watching  the 
growth  or  sat  under  the  shade  of  a  tree  he 
has  planted.  Many  are  the  proofs  of  the 
greac  economic  and  hygienic  value  of  trees, 
as  shown  and  published  in  various  ways. 

PEOFIT  IN  TREE  PLANTING. 

The  direct  profits  of  tree  planting  may  be 
easily  and  conclusively  shown  to  be  10  to  20 
per  cent,  per  annum.  It  is  as  profitable  as 
any  crop  of  farm  or  garden,  but  has  the  one 
objection  insurmountable  to  most  people  of 
ty  ng  up  capital  without  returns  for  many 
years.  These  three  great  reasons  for  tree 
planting,  duty,  pleasure  and  profit,  cannot  be 
gainsaid.  But  some  will  say :  I  want  all  my 
irrigable  land  for  agriculture ;  I  cannot  afford 
any  for  the  slow  returns  of  trees."  Look 
about  carefully.  Are  there  no  wet  places  or 
water  holes  which  are  too  wet  to  crop,  but 
where  trees  will  grow  ?  Are  there  no  corners 
where  a  tree  can  be  planted  and  irrigated? 
Is  every  foot  of  your  land  utilized  ?  It  is  an 
old  commandment :  "Seek  and  ye  shall  find." 

Plant  masses  around  your  dwellings  and 
out  buildings.  Plant  rows  along  each  side  of 
your  irrigating  ditches;  plant  trees  along 
your  fences,  and  on  the  edges  of  your  fields, 
wherever  water  can  be  carried  for  them.  In 
this  way,  no  extra  irrigation  is  needed,  and 
the  cost  of  their  growth  is  nothing,  while  the 
good  they  do  is  incalculable. 

One  of  the  greatest  uses  for  trees  is  for 
wind  breaks,  especially  on  the  prairies, 
where  the  winds  are  sudden  and  devastating, 
doing  more  harm  to  all  vegetation,  with 
their  dry,  scorching  effect,  than  is  generally 
credited.  It  is  a  settled  fact  that  the  only 
corn  raised  in  Central  Kansas,  in  the  year 
1874,  was  grown  where  it  had  the  protection 
of  forest  shelter. 

CLIMATIC  EFFECTS. 

In  this  peculiary  dry  climate  and  at  this 
great  altitude  all  vegetation  is  subject  to 
many  vicissitudes.  The  chief  obstacle  to  the 
growth  of  trees  is  not  the  lack  of  water.  If 
it  were  we  could  grow  all  hardy  trees  with 
irrigation.  It  is  rather  the  altitude.  '  The 
rare  atmosphere,  with  .scarcely  any  humidity, 
and  presenting  little  obstruction  to  the 
scorching  rays  of  the  sun,  produces  so  great 
an  evaporation  from  all  parts  of  the  tree, 
that  often  the  machinery  cannot  'keep  up 
the  circulation  necessary  to  a  healthy  con- 
dition. On  the  plains  in  winter  the  cold  dry 
winds,  with  a  hot  scorching  sun  often 
draw  all  the  life  from  the  tree.  The  thawing 
of  a  tree  during  some  of  our  warm  winter 
days  is  more  injurious  than  the  greatest 
amount  of  freezing.  In  the  parks  and 
canons  among  the  mountains  the  same  obsta- 


cles to  vegetable  growth  are  found,  but  to  a 
less  degree.  The  trees  are  there  more  shel- 
tered from  sun  and  wind,  and  the  atmosphere 
is  nioister. 

To  overcome  these  evil  effects  a  tree  must 
possess,  besides  hardiness,  strong,  rapid  and 
robust  growth.  It  must  have  machinery  ac- 
customed to  sudden  calls  upon  it  for  rapid 
action  and  will  run  smoothly  without  fric- 
tion. ID  must  have  the  power  of  pushing 
out  its  roots  with  rapidity  and  vigor,  pene- 
trating for  its  food,  and  quickly  assimilating 
the  food  and  moisture  in  the  ground. 

Trees  may  be  divided  into  two  classes — for 
use  and  for  ornament.  In  making  these  di- 
visions I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  rep- 
resenting that  any  tree  is  not  ornamental; 
but  some  trees  are  of  economic  value,  while 
others  have  no  reason  for  being  planted  be- 
sides that  of  their  beauty.  In  choosing  a  tree 
for  either  purpose  we  would  have  different 
objects  in  view.  I  will  confine  myself  to  trees 
for  use. 

The  selection  of  trees  strictly  for  use  is 
governed  by  three  objects — profit  from  the 
wood,  value  of  the  fruit,  and  their  use  for 
protection  and  windbreaks.  Tree  planting 
in  this  State  h^s  been  as  yet  little 
practised,  and  the  comparative  value 
of  trees  for  forest  culture  has  not 
been  well  established.  For  this  we  sorely 
need  forestal  experimental  stations  through- 
out the  State,  and  I  trust  in  some  way  they 
may  soon  be  established.  On  account  of  this 
lack  of  knowledge  the  following  list  of  trees 
may  be  much  changed  by  further  experience. 
In  preparing  it  I  have  been  governed  chiefly 
by  my  own  observation  and  that  of  others  in 
this  State.  I  have  chosen  twelve  trees,  which 
I  consider  best  suited  for  successful  and  prof- 
itable growth  in  Colorado,  and  will  name 
and  desciibe  them  in  the  order  of  their 
merit. 

BEST  TWELVE  TREES  FOR  USE. 

Catalpa  speciosa  (Western  Cacalpa) — Height 
60  to  80  feet,  with  trunk  2  to  4  feet  in  diam- 
eter. Growth  very  rapid,  especially  when 
young.  Wood  light  but  close-grained,  of  a 
beautiful  color,  and  susceptible  of  a  fine  pol- 
ish; very  durable,  and  valuable  for  fence 
posts,  railroad  ties  and  similar  purposes.  In 
the  Government  stoskade  at  San  Antonio  it 
is  perfectly  sound,  after  being  in  the  ground, 
it  is  asserted.  200  years.  It  is  easily  grown 
from  cuttings,  should  be  planted  close,  and  is 
entirely  exempt  from  insects.  Its  great  dura- 
bility, its  tenacity  of  life,  and  the  ease  with 
which  it  is  propagated  and  transplanted, 
make  it  the  most  profitable  tree  for 
forest  growth  on  the  plains  south  of 
latitude  43  degrees.  It  was  much 
used  by  the  Indians  for  canoes  because  of  its 


PAPERS  READ   BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


durable  quality,  and  because  it  is  not  liable 
to  crack.  It  is  very  ornamental  with  its 
round  head,  warm  colored  foliage,  large,  fan- 
like  leaves,  and  showy  clusters  of  flowers  in 
spring,  somewhat  like  those  of  the  horse- 
chestnut.  It  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  more  tender  Eastern  catalpa,  Catalpa 
bignonioides,  which  has  a  less  erect  habit  of 
growth,  and  smaller  flowers,  appearing  earlier 
in  the  spring. 

Fraxinus  Americana  (White  Ash) — Height, 
seventy  to  eighty  feet,  with  straight,  clean 
trunk,  growth  rapid,  wood  light,  but  very 
tough,  hard  and  elastic,  and  in  great  demand 
for  agricultural  tools,  machines,  carriages, 
oars,  barrels,  tubs,  etc.  It  is  also  much 
sought  for  by  cabinet  makers,  and  is  coming 
into  use  quite  extensively  for  the  interior 
finish  of  dwellings;  it  is  called  for  wherever 
strength,  stiffness  and  lightness  are  desira- 
ble. Very  ornamental  with  its  broad,  round 
head  and  handsome  foliage.  The  Green  Ash 
(Fraxinus  viridis)  is  of  slower  growth  and 
forms  a  smaller  tree,  but  is  valuable  on  the 
plains. 

Ulmus  Americana  (White  Elm) — Height, 
80  to  100  feet,  growth  medium,  wood  brown, 
very  tough  in  young  trees,  light  and  moder- 
ately strong  in  old;  always  difficult  to  split; 
extensively  used  in  the  manufacture  of  hubs 
and  ship  blocks;  bears  well  exposure  to  the 
atmosphere,  and  is  of  high  fuel  value.  One 
of  the  most  ornamental  of  trees,  with  its 
lofty  sweeping  gothic  forms  of  great  elegance 
and  grace.  The  red  or  slippery  elm  (ulmus 
fulva)  is  a  smaller  tree  than  the  white  elm, 
but  of  a  more  rapid,  vigorous  growth,  with 
reddish,  hard,  exceedingly  durable  wood, 
much  used  for  fence  posts  and  .rails.  It  may 
do  better  in  this  climate  than  the  white  elm. 
Juglaus  nigra  (Black  Walnut) — Height70to 
90  feet,  with  a  very  erect,  straight  stem,  4  to 
6  feet  in  diameter;  growth  slow  for  the  first 
three  or  four  years,  but  rapid  and  vigorous 
afterwards;  wood  of  a  dark,  rich  brown  color, 
rather  hard  and  firm,  but  susceptible  of  a  high 
polish,  and  probably  more  extensively  em- 
ployed for  first-class  cabinet  wood  than 
any  other.  It  is  also  extensively 
used  for  gunstocks,  handrails,  floors,  stairs 
and  inside  furnishing  generally.  It  has  a 
long  tap  root,  which  is  an  advantage  in  this 
country,  helping  it  to  find  water  at  a  great 
depth,  but  makes  it  difficult  to  transplant. 
Therefore  it  should  only  be  grown  from  seed 
planted  where  the  seed  is  to  grow,  in  good 
rich  soil.  The  nuts  are  gathered  in  the  fall, 
mixed  in  soil  or  sand,  and  left  in  heaps  ex- 
posed to  frosts  during  the  winter.  In  the 
spring  they  are  planted  in  rows  and  covered 
with  an  inch  or  two  of  soil.  The  bJack  wal- 
nut may  be  considered  the  most  valuable 
tree  we  have,  though  of  rather  difficult 


growth  in  this  climate.  It  should  be  planted 
with  soft-wooded  trees  to  shelter  it.  It  forms 
a  noble  tree,  very  ornamental  with  its  round 
spacious  form  spreading  grandly  with  age, 
and  of  marked  beauty. 

Populus  Monolifera  (Cottonwood) — Height, 
80  to  100  feet,  with  trunk  4  or  5  feet  in 
diameter.  Growth  most  rapid.  Wood  soft, 
light,  burning  rapidly  when  seasoned,  and 
much  used  in  manufacturing  brick.  It 
makes  excellent  lumber,  particularly  for 
inside  purposes,  not  exposed  to  weather  ;  for 
shingles,  only  pine,  cedar  and  walnut  are 
superior.  It  is  stated  that  old  steamboat  and 
mill  men  prefer  half-seasoned  cottonwood  to 
any  other,  claiming  they  can  get  more  steam 
by  it.  It  grows  well  from  cuttings.  Al- 
though it  is  a  short-lived  tree,  and  the  wood 
is  comparatively  poor,  this  native  tree  is  so 
well  adapted  in  every  way  to  this  climate  that 
it  is  more  profitable  than  many  other  trees  of 
much  finer  qualities.  As  a  nurse  tree  it  is 
peculiarly  valuable,  and  should  always  be 
planted  in  a  grove  with  slower  growing  sorts 
and  gradually  cut  out  as  the  other  trees  ma- 
ture. It  is  quite  ornamental,  with  its  large, 
glossy  foliage,  but  is  too  coarse  to  plant  on  the 
lawn  or  near  the  garden.  All  the  populars 
are  very  valuable  for  planting  in  this  climate 
because  of  their  rapid,  robust  vigorous 
growth.  Besides  other  native  species  there 
is  the  silver  poplar  or  Abele  tree  (Populus 
Alba),  which  is  large  and  very  orna- 
mental, with  silver  foliage,  and  Populus 
grandidentata  a  large  tree  with  handsome 
large  foliage,  also  populur  balsamifera,  balsam, 
tacamahsc  or  balm  of  gilead,  a  tall  tree  much 
planted  on  account  of  its  odoriferous  buds. 
Acer  negundo,  ash-leaved  maple  or  box  elder, 
height  40  to  60  feet,  with  trunk  two  feet  in 
diameter;  -growth  very  rapid  especially  when 
young;  wood,  moderately  fine,  white  and 
makes  good  fuel  when  well  seasoned.  It  has 
a  saccharine  sap,  from  which  syrup  and  sugar 
are  made,  and  in  this  can  be  made  a  substi- 
tute for  sugar  maple,  which  does  not  grow 
well  here.  A  very  ornamental  tree  of  irregu- 
lar spreading  form  and  light  green  foliage. 
One  of  the  most  desirable  of  lawn  trees  for 
this  climate,  gleditschia  triacanthos.  Honey 
locust  or  three- thorned  acacia,  height  40  to  60 
feet;  growth,  very  rapid;  wood,  heavy  hard  and 
rather  coarse-grained,  and  valuable  for  many 
purposes;  equal  to  either  catalpa  or  black 
walnut  in  construction  requiring  strength, 
and  for  fuel  and  railway  ties;  it  shrinks  but 
little  in  seasoning,  and  contracts  and  ex- 
pands but  little  under  atmospheric  influences 
of  moisture  or  dryness.  Its  clean,  healthy, 
vigorous  condition  is  conspicuous,  and  it 
adapts  itself  readily  to  any  soil  or  altitude. 
Thorns  appear  on  all  parts  of  the  tree,  and 
very  large  ones  protrude  from  the  main 


10 


PAPERS   BEAD   BEFORE   THE   ASSOCIATION. 


stem  and  the  large  branches;  these,  when 
they  fall  off,  become  dangerous  to  animals 
and  persons  frequenting  the  ground.  Be- 
cause of  these  thorns  it  is  specially  adapted 
for  hedges  and  live  fences,  but  in  forest  cul- 
ture it  is  better  to  use  the  thornless 
variety  (Gleditschia  croscanthos  mernus) 
which,  however,  cannot  be  grown  from  seed 
with  certainty;  valuable  for  ornament  on 
account  of  its  elegant  foliage  and  long  ra- 
cemes of  white  and  very  fragrant  flowers. 

Robinia  psendacacia  (Yellow  or  Black 
Locust)— Height  60  to  80  feet,  with  trunk  2 
to  3  feet  in  diameter;  growth  rapid;  wood 
white  or  greenish  yellow,  very  hard  and 
close-grained,  very  durable,  especially  when 
raised  on  rather  poor  land;  no  other  wood 
will  bear  a  greater  strain;  especially  valua- 
ble for  fence  posts,  resisting  decay  better 
than  any  other  wood  except  cedar  and  catal- 
pa;  much  sought  after  for  tree-nails  for 
ships,  and  for  floors  of  vessels.  Owing  to  its 
peculiar  foliage,  grass  will  grow  under  its 
shade  more  freely  than  any  other  tree,  and 
cattle  may  be  pastured  in  locust  woods. .  It 
stands  the  drouth,  and  will  succeed  under 
careless  management  better  than  perhaps 
any  other  tree.  In  some  localities  it  cannot 
be  grown  on  account  of  the  borers  which  in- 
fest it,  but  in  this  climate  no  fear  of  insects 
may  be  entertained.  Very  ornamental  with 
its  soft,  graceful  foliage  and  abundant  ra- 
cemes of  white,  fragrant  pea-blossom  flowers. 

Morus  alba  tartarica  (Eussian  Mulberry) — 
Height  50  to  60  feet,  with  trunk  3  to  5  feet 
in  diameter.  Growth  rather  slow  in 
light,  sandy  soil,  but  very  rapid 
in  heavy,  low,  wet  places;  in  Ne- 
braska it  makes  a  better  growth  than 
cotton  wood.  Wood  hard,  elastic,  close- 
grained  and  susceptible  of  a  fine  polish,  used 
largely  in  the  arts  and  in  cabinet!  work,  mu- 
sical instruments,  farming  implements, 
building,  etc.  As  a  fence-post  it  is  almost 
equal  to  catalpa  and  red  cedar.  It  can  be 
grown  from  cuttings,  is  easily  transplanted, 
and  has  proved  very  valuable  for  fuel,  wind- 
breaks and  hedges.  Its  fruit  is  large  and 
very  abundant,  appearing  on  very  young 
trees.  The  leaves  are  also  valuable  for  silk- 
worms. Ornamental  with  its  handsome  foli- 
age and  spreading  top.  The  original  species, 
morug  alba  or  white  mulberry,  is 
also  very  valuable  for  timber  and  ex- 
tensively slanted;  also  the  red  mulberry 
(morns  rulva)  of  which  the  wood  is  yellow, 
very  heavy  and  durable,  and  much  used  for 
tools. 

Acer  dasycarpum — (White  or  Silver  maple.) 
Height  eighty  to  100  feet  with  trunk  three 
to  four  feet  in  diameter.  Growth  very  rapid 
in  almost  any  soil.  Wood  white,  fine  grained, 
rather  light  and  soft,  but  takes  a  fair  polish, 


and  is  used  much  for  purposes  where  a  very 
iiard  surface  is  not  required;  occasionally  a 
;ree  yields  the  accidental  form  known  as 
urled  or  birds-eye  maple.  The  sap  is  sweet 
and  sugar  can  be  made  from  it.  It  makes 
good  fuel,  and  forms  a  good  windbreak  with 
its  abundant  flexible  branches.  Very  orna- 
mental with  large  spreading  top  and  silvery 
foliage. 

Juniperus  Virginiana  (Red  Cedar) — Height 
thirty  to  fifty  feet.  Growth  medium.  Out- 
side wood  white  and  heart  wood  of  reddish 
color  and  very  durable.  Largely  employed 
for  cabinet  work,  pencils,  fence  posts,  etc.  Its 
dense  growth  renders  it  valuable  for  wind- 
breaks. This  coniferous  tree  is  found  in 
almost  every  State  in  the  Union  and  is  one 
of  the  most  valuable  of  all  forest  trees  for 
timber,  windbreak  or  ornament.  It  is 
abundant  on  the  foot-hills  of  this  State.  Its 
tapering  and  symmetrical  form  and  bright 
rich  evergreen  foliage  make  it  very  orna- 
mental. The  White  Cedar  (Jo  Communis 
Alpina)  is  a  smaller  tree,  native 
of  our  mountains,  especially  on 
the  western  part  and  makes  a  very  valuable 
wood,  but  not  so  desirable  as  red  cedar,  being 
less  durable. 

Salix  Alba  (White  or  Gray  Willow)— Height, 
sixty  to  eighty  feet  with  trunk  three  to  five 
feet  in  diameter  under  favorable  conditions. 
Growth  very  rapid.  Wood  light,  tough  and 
elastic  and  does  not  split  easily;  it  is  much 
used  for  house  and  ship  floors  and  for  car- 
riage and  cart  bodies;  also  for  bowls,  trays 
and  other  vessels  and  for  turned  goods  of 
various  sorts;  it  has  a  great  durability  under 
vvater  and  when  much  exposed  to  its  action, 
and  is  therefore  very  valuable  for  the  floats 
of  paddle-wheels  and  the  buckets  of 
mill  wheels.  It  is  very  useful 
for  fuel  and  can  be  specially  recommended 
for  windbreaks.  All  willows  have  very  large 
masses  of  fine  fibrous  roots  that  penetrate  the 
soil  to  a  great  depth,  and  will  push  to  a  great 
distance  in  search  of  moisture.  The  yellow- 
twigged  willow  (salix  alba  vitillina)  is  very 
valuable  for  baskets,  and  also  very  orna- 
mental with  its  yellow  twigs.  The  diamond 
willow  (salix  cerdata  vestita)  is  a  variety 
lately  found  on  the  Missouri  River  north  of 
the  Yellowstone,  and  is  said  to  be  as  desira- 
ble for  posts  as  red  cedar. 

PROCESSES  OF    PLANTING. 

And  now  a  few  final  words  about  planting. 
The  processes  of  planting  here  are  not  differ- 
ent from  those  required  in  any  other  part  of 
the  world.  It  should  be  done  in  the  spring, 
and  if  possible  only  those  trees  should  be 
planted  which  have  grown  a  year  or  two 
here  and  have  become  acclimated.  They  are 
much  more  sure  to  succeed  than  those  brought 
a  long  distance  from  a  totally  different  cli- 


PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION, 


11 


mate.  Young  trees  should  be  invariably 
planted,  the  younger  the  better.  They  are 
less  expensive  and  more  sure  to  live.  In 
transplanting  from  the  shady  canons,  great 
care  is  required,  and  the  tree  protected  from 
the  sun  as  much  as  possible  for  some  time 
after  it  is  planted.  One  of  the  most  import- 
ant parts  of  the  successful  growth  of  trees  is 
fall  and  winter  watering;  often  trees  are  lost 
from  want  of  water  during  the  winter.  They 
should  be  thoroughly  watered  just  before 
the  ground  freezes  up  in  the  fall  and  again 
during  the  dry,  warm  spell  that  generally 
comes  in  the  early  part  of  February. 

It  is  better  for  the  inexperienced  to  plant 
at  first  only  a  few  of  the  better-tested  sorts  of 
trees.  The  work  is  t.aus  simplified  and 
better  performed.  When  experience  is  gained 
and  an  intelligent  interest  in  trees  estab- 
lished, the  planter  may,  at  his  own  pleasure, 
experiment  with  less  common  tree-j,  testing 
their  value  and  adding  them  to  his  planta- 
tion as  he  finds  them  to  serve,  his  purpose. 
His  tree-planting  now  becomes  a  source  of 
constant  enjoyment.  The  trees  are  his 
friends  and  he  delights  to  widen  his  ac- 
quaintance among  them. 

I  will  conclude  with  the  words  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott  to  his  forester:  "Be  aye  stickin' 
in  a  tree;  it  will  be  growin'  when  ye're 
sleepin'." 


FACTS  ABOUT   FORESTRY. 

BY  WM.  E.   PABOR,   OF  FRUITA. 

Only  a  tree! 

But  think  of  it— something  that  Nature 
takes  peculiar  pride  in  and  endows  with  a 
longevity  equal  sometimes  to  seventy  genera- 
tions of  mankind.  What  solemn  and  strange 
thoughts  must  enter  the  mind  of  a  pilgrim 
who,  traversing  the  island  of  Ceylon,  stands 
at  last  in  the  shadow  of  that  sacred  fig  tree 
whose  age,  historically  determined,  fixes  the 
date  of  its  planting  288  years  before  the 
Christian  era  dawned  upon  the  world.  In 
the  year  414  this  same  tree  was  seen  and  de- 
scribed by  a  Chinese  traveler,  who  found  it 
an  object  of  adoration  and  worship.  In  later 
centuries  the  earliest  Europeans  who  visited 
the  country  gave  testimony  as  to  its  venerable 
age.  It  still  flourishes,  a  holy  tree  in  every 
sense  of  the  word  to  the  Budhists  who  worship 
about  its  rugged  trunk  and  under  its  gnarled 
limbg.  Even  in  our  own  land,  among  the 
redwood  forests  of  California,  there  are  trees 
whose  size  indicate  an  age  equal  and  perhaps 
superior  to  the  fig  tree  of  Ceylon.  What, 
then,  is  the  life  of  man  compared  to  the  life 
of  a  tree?  Well  might  this  noble  object  of 
Nature  have  had  a  peculiar  sanctity  in 


Egypt  and  Greece,  which  feeling  was  fostered 
by  imposing  and  impressive  rites  and  cere- 
mo  ales  connected  with  their  Deities.  The 
oak  was  consecrated  to  Jupiter,  the  joy  io 
Bacchus,  the  olive  to  Minerva  and  the  laurel 
to  Apollo.  As  Kendrick  says  in  his  Ancient 
Egypt:  "Their  susceptibility  to  atmospheric 
influence  may  have  invested  them  with  a 
prophetic  virtue  in  regard  to  changes  of 
weather."  Their  longevity  may  have  caused 
them  to  be  regarded  as  emblems  of  divine 
power  and  duration  and  to  be  invested  with 
something  of  that  mysterious  awe  which  at- 
taches to  everything  that  has  witnessed  ages 
and  generations  long  passed  away. 

But  man  can  be  cruel,  though  his  life  be 
so  brief,  and  the  ax  in  the  sturdy  work- 
man's hand  can  destroy  in  a  day  the  beauti- 
ful temple  that  the  earth  and  the  air,  the 
sunshine  and  the  rain  have  combined  to 
build  into  a  lofty  structure  whose  roots  pen- 
etrate deep  into  the  very  heart  of  nature, 
and  whose  brow  is  lifted  high  into  the  arcana 
above  us. 

It  is  because  man  has  been,  and  still  is, 
thus  cruel,  that  we  have  met  to  take  counsel 
together  to  devise  some  means  by  which  the 
trees  of  the  forest  may  be  spared  from  whole- 
sale destruction.  We  learn  from  the  census 
reports  that  the  consumption  of  wood  as  fuel 
for  the  census  year  of  1880  amounted  to  140,- 
537,439  cords,  valued  at  $306,950,040.  In 
addition  to  this  use  of  wood  for  domestic 
purposes,  railroads,  steamboats,  mines  and 
manufactories  used  145,778,138  cords,  having 
a  value  of  $321,962,273.  So  that,  in  one  year 
only,  have  the  startling  figures  of  over  six 
hundred  million  cords  of  wood  consumed, 
representing  a  value  of  over  seven  hundred 
million  of  dollars,  about  one-third  of  the 
national  debt  of  the  United  States.  This 
use  is  domestic  and  industrial  and  therefore 
legitimate  and  justifiable;  but  what  shall  we 
say  when  we  come  to  consider  the  area  of 
forests  that  the  igniting  of  a  single  match  in 
the  hands  of  a  careless  hunter  or  tourist  may 
sweep  out  of  existence?  Can  language  too 
strong  be  used  in  condemnation  of  such  care- 
lessness or  maliciousness  ?  Can  our  words  be 
too  plain  or  too  loud  in  our  appeal  for  some 
meamre  of  restraint  strong  enough  to  stay 
the  destroying  touch  ? 

A  few  years  ago  Dr.  E.  E.  Edwards,  then 
President  of  our  Agricultural  College,  pre- 
pared an  address  on  the  Utility  of  Trees,  and 
delivered  it  at  different  institutes  held  by  the 
farmers  in  various  parts  of  the  State.  In 
January,  1880,  he  delivered  this  lecture  at 
Monument,  on  the  Divide,  in  a  section  where 
the  trees,  for  the  last  twenty  years,  have  suf- 
fered most  from  the  destroying  hand  of  man. 
Here  are  some  of  the  significant  words  he 


12 


PAPERS  BEAD   BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


used:  "We  want  these  trees  in  the  valley 
and  on  the  plains,  along  our  water-courses 
and  on  our  mountain  slopes.  Once  destroyed 
j'-rt's  will  not  replace  them.  They  are  already 
passing  away.  A  few  years  ago,  when  I  firs 
visited  the  State,  their  death-fires  gleamed 
like  the  camp-fires  of  an  avenging  enemj 
along  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  snowy  range 
and  every  year  they  are  burning.  What  the 
fire  spares  the  ax  destroys.  Whoever  makes 
war  upon  these  forests,  makes  war  upon  our 
civilization,  our  prosperity,  our  happiness 
They  are  cutting  off  our  supply  of  water,  dry 
ing  our  fountains,  blighting  our  forests.  * 

"The  mountains  are  our  strong  and  mighty 
friends.  From  them  proceed  all  fertility  of 
soil,  and  all  healthfulness  of  climate.  Their 
red  granite  and  gray  limestones,  and  sand- 
stones, crumbling,  make  the  soil  of  these 
plains.  They  are  a  shelter  from  storms.  In 
their  sunset  shadows,  we  find  rest.  They 
temper  the  heat  of  our  summers,  moderate 
the  cold  of  our  winters.  They  are  camped 
along  our  western  horizon,  like  the  white 
tents  of  an  army.  Their  banner  is  the  cloud 
They  are  the  breastworks  of  our  land.  They 
*.re  full  of  treasure,  rich  in  silver  and  gold 
But  there  is  a  treasure  as  great  as  these,  in 
the  snow,  folded,  like  a  mantle,  around  their 
shining  summits.  But  for  this,  all  of  the 
land  would  be  as  desolate  as  a  field  of  death. 
In  the  snow  are  the  wheat,,  and  the  corn,  and 
the  fruit  of  the  vine.  It  holds  the  golden 
harvests  that  are  to  wave  on  the  plains  be- 
low. And  the  trees  are  the  protectors,  the 
guardian  spirits,  of  the  snow.  Therefore,  we 
repeat,  protect  the  trees.'' 

Could  Doctor  Edwards  be  with  us  here,  to- 
day, there  would  be  no  more  earnest  advocate 
hi  behalf  of  a  State  society  for  the  protection 
of  our  forests. 

Years  ago  a  President  of  the  New  York 
State  Agricultural  Society,  in  an  address  be- 
fore that  body,  said:  "Has  the  wholesale 
destruction  of  forests  nothing  to  do  with 
this  sweeping  over  and  beyond  us,  of  the 
heavy  rain  clouds?  Can  we  continue  to 
sweep  away  all  our  growth  of  timber  in 
every  arable  district  and  even  denude  our 
rocky  hillsides  and  mountain  tops  without 
incurring  the  penalty?  Can  we  expect  to 
escape  the  operations  of  a  universal  law  that 
has  produced  uniform  results  in  all  countries 
and  in  •»!!  ages?  Wherever  this  law  has  been 
violated,  sooner  or  later,  the  lands  have  be- 
come desolate  and  the  cities  have  perished. 
Palestine  and  Syria,  Egypt  and  Italy  and 
Spain  and  even  France,  bave  seen  their 
most  fertile  and  prosperous  regions  turned 
into  forsaken  wildernesses  and  their  most 
productive  lands  into  arid,  sandy  deserts." 
Well  may  we  echo  the  question  put  in  1868 


to  the  California  Soate  Horticultural  Society 
by  a  speaker  who  quoted  the  above  language: 
"If  New  York,  which  has  naturally  a  moist 
climate,  is  so  soon  beginning  to  experience 
the  deleterious  effects  of  a  destruction  of  her 
forests,  what  will  we  be,  years  from  now,  if 
our  people  go  on  as  they  have  for  the  past 
fifteen  years,  recklessly  sweeping  the  timber 
before  them  as  they  settle  up  the  country  or 
even  in  advance  of  such  settlement?" 

Let  us,  here  in  Colorado,  heed  the  lesson 
before  it  is  too  late.  Let  our  newspapers  take 
up  the  subject  and  discuss  it  in  the  interest 
of  the  general  welfare  of  the  State  and  not 
be  doing,  as  did  a  Boulder  County  paper 
four  years  ago,  be  boasting  of  the  20,000  acres 
of  mountain  sides  in  one  vast  forest,  whose 
tall  trees  were  being  cut  down  for  a  saw- 
mill, and  extolling  the  enterprise  of  the 
men  who  were  doing  what  at  the  same  time 
Dr.  Edwards  was  so  severely  condemning. 
The  editor  forgot,  in  his  pride  of  local 
enterprise,  that  he  was  nursing  a  viper  to 
sting  the  community  in  the  years  when  the 
St.  Vrain  and  the  Boulder  a'nd  the  Big 
Thompson  Creeks  were  to  run  dry  in  sum- 
mer because  this  very  2,000  acres  of  forest 
had  been  destroyed.  Nature  gives  us  enough 
to  contend  with  here,  without  our  own 
hands  adding  to  the  burden.  We  have  dry 
and  rainless  summers.  We  have  hot  winds 
that  drain  our  valley  soil  of  moisture,  that 
sponge  out  of  existence  the  water  of  ^ ,  . 
mountain  streams,  and  the  admonition  comes 
to  us,  in  language  that  we  cannot  mistake, 
that  we  must  arrest  the  destruction  of  our 
forests  or  be  ourselves  destroyed. 

It  is  the  theory  of  many  persons  that  the 
natural  rainfall  of  Colorado  is  increasing, 
and  that  the  time  is  coming  when  but  little 
rrigation  will  be  required  for  the  growth  of 
;rops.  Never  was  theory  so  fallacious,  and 
he  who  builds  upon  it  builds  upon  the  sands 
f  error.  What  are  the  facts,  taking  the  rain- 
all  of  the  last  ten  years  in  Colorado,  in  the 
vicinity  ef  Denver,  as  a  basis?  Here  is  the 
ecord : 


Inches. 
874 13.451879 


875.. 


876 20  12 


17.251880 9.58 


877. 


878 15.51 


16.381882 14.49 


Total 82.71 


Average  inches...  16.54 


Inches. 
.  10.86 


1881 12.79 


1883 19.49 


Total 67.21 


Average  inches...  13.44 


Does  this  not  show  an  aver?,ge  decrease  of 
>ver  three  inches  yearly  ?  To  what  can  we 
ook  as  the  cause,  unless  it  be  in  the  denud- 
ng  of  our  vast  timber  ranges. 

The  rain  record  of  Idaho  tells  a  similar 
tory.  From  1873  to  anc*  including  1877,  the 


PAPERS   READ  BEFORE  THE   ASSOCIATION. 


13 


average  rainfall  was  22.63  inches.  For  the 
five  succeeding  years,  ending  with  1882,  th 
average  yearly  rainfall  was  22.63  inches 
showing  a  loss  per  year  of  over  four  inches 
In  Utah  the  decrease  is  still  more  plain 
During  these  same  periods  an  average  o: 
22.63  has  dropped  to  14.85,  showing  a  loss  o 
one-third. 

In  Arizona  the  13.85  average  for  the  firsi 
five  years  is  lowered  by  two  inches  annually 
for  the  five  that  follow. 

To  what  are  these  attributable  at  a  time 
when  General  Hazen,  in  his  Signal  Service 
notes  on  variation  of  rainfall  west  of  the 
Mississippi  Eiver,  announces  as  one  of  the 
conclusions  arrived  at  during  three  years  of 
observation,  that  "the  gradual  increase  in 
rainfall  during  the  years  1880,  1881  and  1882 
is  noticeable  over  a  large  extent  of  coun- 
try." 

The  question  then  comes  back  to  us,  What 
shall  we  do  to  preserve  our  forests?  Not 
only  to  preserve  what  we  already  nave,  but 
to  increase  their  area  ? 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  know  what  action 
foreign  nations  and  some  of  the  States  of  the 
American  Union  have  taken  in  the  interest 
of  forestry,  before  presenting  our  own.  The 
forest  codes  of  the  Old  World  are  extensive, 
and  various  governments  exercise  almost 
arbitrary  control  over  private  estates  by 
right  of  eminent  domain.  In  some  instances 
they  own  immense  bodies  of  land  over  which 
theyj  exercise  the  strictest  surveillance. 
Schools  of  Forestry  abound  in  the  German 
empire,  some  of  them  over  100  years  old, 
where  forestry  is  made  a  study  equal  to 
agriculture  under  university  organization. 
Austria  has  its  High  Schools  of  Forestry, 
maintained  at  State  expense.  Switzerland 
supports  a  Forestry  division  in  its  Federal 
Polytechnic  School.  France  has  a  school  of 
Forestry  at  Nancy,  established  'for  the  sole 
purpose  of  preparing  agents  for  the  State 
Forestry  service.  During  the  last  fifty  years 
it  has  educated  over  a  thousand  persons  for 
this  special  work.  Italy  created  a  school  of 
Forestry  by  royal  decree  in  1869  upon  the 
plan  adopted  by  France.  Spain  has  its 
special  school  of  Forest  Engineers  under  the 
direction  of  the  Ministers  of  Agriculture. 
The  General  Institute  of  Agriculture  of  Por- 
tugal embraces  in  its  course  Sylviculture  and 
Forest  Engineering.  Eussia  has  its  Forestal 
school,  and  Sweden  its  Forest  Institute  aided 
by  government  under  the  management  of 
directors  appointed  by  the  King.  Others 
might  be  named,  but  these  will  answer  to 
show  tiiat  the  protection  of  forest  trees,  not 
alone  for  their  supply  of  timber,  but  for  the 
climatic  influence  they  exert,  is  world-wide 
in  its  work. 
Nearer  home,  in  our  sister  Eepublic  of 


Mexico  we  find  that  particular  attention  is  at 
present  being  paid  to  tree  planting;  not 
alone  by  t^ie  owners  of  estates,  bjit  by  the 
Government,  which  has  lately  entered  into 
contract  with  parties  for  the  planting  of 
2,000,000  trees  in  the  Valley  of  Mexico  with- 
in four  years.  These  trees  are  to  consist  of 
such  varieties  as  ash,  willows,  poplar,  euca- 
lyptus, cedars  and  acacias,  and  are  to  be  in 
plantations  of  from  50,000  to  100,000  each. 
These  groves,  in  the  years  to  come,  cannot 
fail  to  have  a  beneficial  effect  upon  the  cli- 
mate of  Mexico. 

Concerning  State  laws  upon  the  subject,  I 
have  grouped  together,  very  briefly,  some  of 
the  laws  upon  the  statute  books,  as  follows: 

California — A  penalty  of  not  more  than 
$1 ,000,  or  a  term  of  imprisonment  not  more 
than  one  year  is  imposed  for  willfully  setting 
fire  to  any  wooded  country  or  forest  belong- 
ing to  the  State  or  the  United  States,  or  to 
any  place  where  fire  would  communicate  to 
such  forests. 

Dakota — Parties  planting  trees  along  pub- 
lic highways  may  occupy  and  use  one  rod^  in 
width  of  such  highways  for  the  purpose"  of 
cultivating  the  growth  of  timber  and  trees 
thereon. 

Illinois — Counties  are  allowed  to  offer  as 
bounty  to  persons  planting  forest  trees  and 
car>  ying  for  them  three  years,  any  sum  not 
exceeding  $10  per  annum  for  three  years  for 
each  acre  so  planted. 

Iowa — Exempts  from  taxation  the  real  and 
personal  property  of  each  taxpayer  who 
plants  and  cares  for  one  or  more  acres  of 
forest  trees,  the  sum  of  $100  per  acre  for  ten 
yews. 

Kansas — In  1868  had  a  law  giving  a  boun- 
ty of  $2  per  acre  for  planting  any  kind  of 
forest  trees  except  black  locust,  to  continue 
for  twenty-five  years.  This  was  amended  in 
1872  requiring  at  least  160  trees  to  the  acre. 
Two  years  later  this  act  was  repealed,  and 
one  enacted  providing  penalties  for  kindling 
ires  upon  lands  not  owned  and  occupied, 
leaving  the  pame  unextinguished. 

Maine — Exempts  from  taxation  for  twenty 
years  lands  from  which  the  primitive  forests 
have  been  removed,  that  are  reset  to  trees. 

Minnesota — An  annual  bounty  of  $2  per 
Acre  and  a  like  annual  bounty  for  every  half 
mile  of  trees  along  the  public  highway,  to  be 
paid  out  of  tie  State  treasury. 

Missouri— A.  similar  law  exists,  except  that 
he  bounty  is  paid  by  the  county  in  which 
he  trees  are  planted. 

Nebraska — An  exemption  of  $100  per  year 
or  five  years  on  each  acre  planted  and  a 
urther  provision  that  the  increased  value  of 
ands  by  reason  of  live  fences,  fruit  and  for- 
$st  trees  gr'»wn  thereon  shall  not  be  taken 
nto  account  in  the  assessment  thereof. 


14 


PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


Nevada— An  annual  bounty  of  $10  per  acre 
and  $10  per  half  mile,  along  a  public  high- 
way, for  twenty  years,  paid  by  the  county, 
and  such  planting  not  to  add  to  or  increase 
the  taxable  value  of  said  land.  This  act  does 
not  apply  to  willows  or  cotton  woods  planted 
along  canals  for  the  protection  of  the  banks. 
New  York— Allows  overseers  of  highways 
to  give  a  rebate  of  $1  for  every  four  trees  set 
out  along  the  highways. 

Wisconsin— Exempts  from  taxation  lands 
set  to  belts  of  trees  until  they  attain  a 
heighth  of  twelve  feet;  afterward  the  owner 
of  such  tree  belts  is  entitled  to  an  annual 
bounty  of  $2  per  acre.  These  tree  belts,  it  is 
provided,  shall  be  on  the  west  and  south  side 
of  tracts  of  land,  and  not  less  than  thirty 
feet  wide  for  each  five  acres  of  land. 

Colorado— Our  State  Constitution  contains 
sections  giving  the  General  Assembly  power 
to  enact  laws  in  order  to  prevent  the  destruc- 
tion of,  and  to  preserve  the  forests,  upon  the 
lands  of  the  State;  and  to  provide  that  the 
increase  in  value  of  lands  by  reason  of 
orchards,  hedges,  etc.,  shall  not  be  taken  into 
account  in  assessing  for  taxation.  In  1881 
an  act  was  passed  providing  that  for  ten 
years  such  exemption  should  exist,  dating 
back  from  1876,  so  that  this  expires  in  two 
years.  Also,  providing  a  bouncy  for  tree- 
planting  along  public  highways.  Fines  are 
also  imposed  for  the  careless  setting  on  fire 
of  timber.  But  no  laws  have  as  yet  been  en- 
acted covering  the  preserv  ation  of  the  forests 
within  the  borders  of  the  State.  These 
being  the  property  of  the  United 
States  Government,  are  not  legitimately 
the  subject  of  legislative  action,  save 
by  memorial  to  Congress;  and  this  Conven- 
tion should  see  to  it  that  such  a  memorial, 
asking,  in  the  language  •  f  the  State  Consti- 
tutional Convention  in  its  memorial  of  1875 
upon  the  same  subject,  that  Congress  "put 
the  respective  forests  and  waste  forest 
grounds  in  regions  where  irrigation  has  to 
be  used  for  agricultural  purposes,  under  the 
control  of  the  respective  Territorial  and 
State  governments."  The  reasons  that  ex- 
isted for  such  a  memorial  ten  years  ago  are 
more  clear  and  decisive  now  than  then;  and 
here  let  me  quote  from  Mr.  F.  P.  Baker's 
preliminary  report  on  the  "Forestry  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley,"  published  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  in  1883,  in  which  he 
comments  upon  the  spoilage  of  Government 
lands  in  Colorado  in  the  following  vigorous 
language:  "In  regard  oo  the  forest  lauds 
still  the  property  of  the  United  States,  the 
question  has  arisen,  shall  they  he  protected 
for  the  benefit  of  the  country  and  of  genera- 
tions yet  to  come,  or  shall  they  be  reducec 
to  desert  wastes  for  the  private  oeuefit  of 
speculators  and  corporations?  Take  the 


case  of  the  Government  forest  lands  in  Colo- 
rado. Twenty-four  years  ago  the  slopes  of 
the  Eocky  Mountains  were  covered  with  the 
untouched  forests  sufficient,  if  properly  cared 
'or,  to  supply  the  reasonable  needs  of  the 
settler  and  miner,  as  contemplated  by  the 
aw,  till  the  end  of  time.  In  the 
shadow  of  these  forests  rose  the  headwaters 
of  the  Eio  Grande,  Platte  and  the  Arkansas, 
and  the  snow  in  the  deep  woods  melting 
slowly,  the  rise  in. the  streams  was  gradual 
and  uniform  for  a  long  period.  To-day  these 
mountains  are  being  left  peeled  and  bare. 
The  mountain  side  is  being  converted  into  a 
3ald,  bleak  desert;  the  springs  are  drying  up, 
and  the  Kio  Grande,  Platte  and  Arkansas  now 
rise  with  sudden  violence,  and  then  sink  as 
suddenly  in  their  dry  and  diminished  beds. 
In  other  words,  the  people  of  Colorado,  New 
Mexico  and  Kansas  are  having  inflicted  upon 
bhein  incalculable  injury,  and  a  wrong  is  be- 
ing done  which,  if  not  arrested,  will  disas- 
rously  affect  generations  yet  unborn." 

Mr.  Baker  advocates  Government  Forest- 
ers, schools  of  forestry  and  experimental 
farms  where  the  methods  of  irrigation  as  ap- 
plied to  forest  culture  should  be  thoroughly 
tested.  But  we  can  hardly  expect  National 
legislation  of  such  character  as  yet.  If,  by 
concert  of  action  we  can  secure  some  law  by 
which  the  States  and  Territories  of  the  great 
Rocky  Mountain  range  most  directly  inter- 
ested in  the  preservation  and  enlargement  of 
the  forests  that  are  now  so  rapidly  being  de- 
stroyed under  the  "liberal"  interpretation  of 
the  "domestic  use"  privilege  in  the  law  now 
existing,  we  shall  be  accomplishing  much  and 
making  rapid  strides  toward  the  end  we  aim 
at.  The  State  of  Colorado  is  entitled  to  and 
is  now  selecting  through  its  Board  of  Land 
Commissioners,  about  90,000  acres  to  com- 
plete the  quota  of  its  various  grants.  If,  in 
selecting  lauds  wholly  agricultural,  it  could 
be  allowed  to  select  wood-lands,  these  might 
be  secured  in  localities  where  it  would 
be  desirable  to  make  efforts  to  pre- 
serve forest  growth,  or  at  least  to 
carry  on  experimental  work  whose 
value  to  future  generations  we  are  not  able 
now  to  properly  estimate.  This  is  thrown 
out  merely  as  a  suggestion.  We  are  so  much 
in  the  dark  as  to  our  ability  to  act,  and  in 
what  direction,  that  any  faint  gleam  of  light 
thrown  on  our  path  may  lead  to  clearer  vis- 
ion. At  least,  and  surely,  we  can  have  a 
Memorial  Comittee,  representing  various  sec- 
tions of  our  State,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
prepare  and  circulate  an  appeal  to  our  Gec- 
eral  Assembly,  convening  next  January,  for 
a  memorial  to  Congress;  securing  signatures 
in  such  numbers  as  shall  convince  both  the 
General  Assembly  and  Congress  that  we  are 
in  earnest  in  this  matter,  as  indeed  we 
need  be  if  we  do  not  desire  drouth,  desola- 


PAPERS   READ   BEFORE   THE   ASSOCIATION. 


15 


tiou  and  disaster  to  follow  upon  this 
wholesale  destruction  of  the  forests  of  Col- 
orado. 

THE    USE     AND    BEAUTY    OP 
FORESTS. 

BY  RALPH  MEEKER,  OF  GREELEY. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  earth  would  be 
uninhabitable  were  it  not  for  its  trees.  How- 
ever true  or  false  this  may  be,  it  is  a  fact  that 
no  product  of  the  soil  enters  so  large.1  y  into 
the  industries  of  the  world  as  timber.  The 
table  on  which  we  eat,  the  bed  on  which  we 
sleep,  the  floor  on  which  we  walk,  the  roof 
that  shelter  us,  the  chest  that  contains  the 
relics  of  a  generation,  the  car  on  the  railway, 
the  ship  on  the  ocean,  the  house,  the  barn, 
the  plow,  the  reaper,  the  fence — in  fact 
nearly  everything  made  with  tools  for  the 
use  of  mankind  is  more  or  less  indebted  to 
our  forests  for  its  existence. 

Coal  mines  may  become  exhausted,  oil  wells 
may  cease  flowing,  but  trees  will  grow  and 
flourish  while  the  earth  remains  habitable. 
Practicably  considered,  our  forests  are  neces- 
sary to  civilization.  JUsthetieally  consid- 
ered, trees  ic  their  way  are  as  beautiful  as 
the  ocean  or  the  mountains  or  the  sky. 

The  man  who  rears  his  family  in  the 
center  of  a,  township  of  black  prairie,  six 
miles  from  a  school  house,  and  sells  corn  for 
ten  cents  *  bushel,  may  see  no  benefit  in  the 
beauty  of  the  forest,  which  all  the  poets  from 
Homer  to  Shakespeare  have  immortalized. 
Byron  says,  "There  is  pleasure  in  the  path- 
less woods;"  and  Bryant  speaks  of  the  groves 
as  God's  first  temples. 

But  we  need  not  go  to  the  poets  for 
authority  on  this  subject.  Our  trees  speak 
for  themselves.  The  Cedars  of  Lebanon,  that 
bowed  their  heads  in  ancient  Palestine,  so 
deeply  impressed  the  people  with  their  sol- 
emn grandeur  and  stately  magnificence,  that 
their  names  were  used  as  figures  of  speech  in 
all  the  great  writings  of  that  day. 

Any  object  of  nature  that  purifies  a  man's 
thoughts  or  awakens  his  reverence  is  of  as 
much  benefit  as  a  teacher,  a  poet  or 
evangelist,  so  far  as  its  influence  extends. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  beautiful  groves 
and  long  shaded  avenues  soften  rugged 
natures  as  they  modify  the  climate  in  which 
men  live.  A  great  writer  has  said  that  "Im- 
agination rules  the  world."  Inhabitants  oi 
a  wooded  country  are  undoubtedly  more 
given  to  sentiment  and  imagry  of  a  higher 
character,  than  those  living  in  mud-flats  and 
low  countries. 

It  is  fashionable  in  this  age  of  machinery 
to  speak  lightly    of  schemes    for    expending 
money  in  beautifying  land  that  one  does  no 
own.    It  is  with  diflaculty  that  the   Yellow 
stone  Parks  were  set  aside   for    public    uses 


The  Adirondacks  have  been    the    subject  of 
egislative  discussions  for  years,  but  still  the 
work  of  destruction  goes  on.     Niagara  Falls, 
hat  marvelous  combination   of  the  sublime 
ind  beautiful,  is  treated  as  if  it  were  a  circus 
obe  viewed  for  so  much  a  head,  while  its  trees 
nd  lovely  natural  shrubbery  are  mutilated 
ind    destroyed.      In    our  own  State  of  Colo- 
rado, we  see  the  mountains    robbed    of  their 
green  covering  every  year.     Careless  hunters 
and  woodsmen  leave   their  fires  to  blacken 
ind  deface  the  finest  scenery   in    the    world. 
The  spirit  of  vandalism  is  becoming  a  char- 
acteristic of  the  American   people,    and    the 
iterrture  (the  dime  novel   literature)   most 
read  by  our  young  people,  is  in  keeping  with 
;his  vandal  spirit.     A  reverential  regard  for 
the  beautiful  things  on  eari  h  exists  only   in 
sentiment  among  comparatively  few  people, 
[n  Germany,  where  the  strongest    feeling  is 
?or  the  Fatherland,  trees  literally  cover  the 
great  Empire.     Groves  crown  every  hill-top, 
and  shadow  the  humblest  dwellings.      The 
phrase  ("Unterder  Linden")  "Under  the  Lin- 
len"  has  become  a  household  word  throghout 
Europe.     All  the  parks  and  gardens    which 
are  open  to  the  public  are  as  much  respected 
as  if  guarded  by  soldiers.     The  flowers  and 
trees  of  Germany  are  the  themes  of  song  and 
poetry.     A  child  is  taught  from  its  youth  to 
revere  the  forests;  and  the  same  is  true,  to  a 
great  extent,  of   France  and    England,  both 
countries  celebrated  for  the  beauty  of  their 
wooded  parks.     What  is  the    result  ?    Every 
line  of  Chaucer  and  Wordsworth    breathes  a 
spirit  of  affection  for  the  trees  of  that    land. 
In  Germany  the  love  of  country  amounts  to 
a  passion.     It  is  there    and  in    Switzerland 
(similar  iu  all  respects    to    Garmauy),    that 
patriotism  is  most  heroically    defined.     The 
best  of  literature  is  read    and    every    boy  is 
familiar  with  Schiller  and  Goetae,  while  the 
common    music    sung    in    the    schools    and 
around    the    hearthstone    is    recognized    as 
classi  c  throughout  the  world.     Large  appro- 
priations   of   money    have    been    made    by 
the  governments  of  those  countries  for  the 
protection  of  their  forests.  It  is  generally  true 
the  best  laws  and  the  deepest  patriotism  are 
founded  on  sentiment.      In  the  old  countries 
wanton  destruction  of  timber  is  punished  by 
law  a0d  condemned  by  all  good  citizens.     In 
this  country  the  great  forests    are    lookod 
upon  as  public  property,  and  every  man  who 
can  wield  an  ax  does  not  hesitate  to  chop  a 
tree.    In  fact,  the  most  popular  event  in  the 
life  of  Washington  was  the  cutting  down  of 
his  father's  cherry  tree.     The  story  has  been 
repeated  to  every  child,  until  the  ruling  am- 
bition  in  life  is  to  destroy  a  tree  without 
lying  about  it.    Of  course    we    must    have 
lumber  and  trees  to  make  it  from;  but  there 
is  no  reason   why  other  trees  should  not  be 
planted  to  take  their  places. 


16 


PAPEES  READ   BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


A  few  years  ago  Clear  Creek,  Boulder  and 
the  other  canons  were  tilled  with  forests. 
To-day  their  naked  rocks  present  melan- 
choly pictures  of  desolation.  On  the  west 
side  of  the  range  it  is  different.  There  one 
imagines  he  is  in  another  country.  The 
scenery  is  the  most  beautiful  in  Colorado. 
Lofty  trees  cover  the  mountains,  and  the 
traveler  can  easily  believe  himself  in  the 
loveliest  portion  of  Switzerland.  Colorado 
has  sixty-three  million  acres  of  land.  A  few 
years  ago  it  was  said  that  three  million  acres 
could  be  irrigated.  Now  the  estimate  is  re- 
duced to  two  million  acres.  Fully  one-half 
the  entire  State,  especially  that  portion  de- 
voted to  mining,  can  never  be  cultivated 
nor  used  for  stock  raising  except  to  a 
limited  degree.  The  timber  now  on  it 
should  be  protected.  If  the  mountain 
timber  were  burned  and  all  the  trees  grow- 
ing along  the  rivers  and  foothills  destroyed 
precious  few  tourists  would  remain  here  be- 
yond a  few  weeks.  The  hunting  would  be  of 
little-value,  the  rainfall  would  decrease,  and 
the  mountain  districts  would  become  as  un- 
attractive as  the  broken  wastes  of  Syria.  Vis- 
itors to  Colorado  cannot  make  any  visible 
use  of  trees.  They  cannot  eat  them  nor  carry 
them  away  as  souvenirs.  They  can  only  ad- 
mire their  beauty,  and  appreciate  their  use- 
fulness in  breaking  the  monotony  of  the  land- 
scape, and  in  shading  the  water-courses.  The 
Great  American  Desert  can  be  made  as  beau- 
tiful as  any  of  the  Eastern  countries.  With 
alfalfa  to  keep  the  soil  moist,  comparatively 
little  irrigation  will  be  required  to  nourish 
trees.  The  groves  of  Greece,  and  those 
lovely  wooded  parks  of  England,  can  be  re- 
produced here  in  Colorado.  If  the  trees  in 
Denver  and  Greeley  were  burned  their  real 
estate  would  depreciate  10  per  cent. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  the  cottonwood 
shade  trees  in  Colorado  towns  add  to  the 
length  o^  human  life,  or  the  healthfulness  of 
the  climate.  It  is  their  beauty  that  is 

Srized.  The  man  who  walks  to  his  friend's 
ouse,  under  arching  trees,  is  conscious  of  a 
charm  that  neither  architecture  nor  impos- 
ing walls  can  give.  The  tired  traveler,  who 
has  seen  nothing  more  inviting  than  th.e 
shade  of  his  mule,  during  his  journey  across 
the  plains,  at  last  reaches  the  bank  of  some 
swiftly-flowing  river,  where,  weary,  and  be- 
grimed with  dust,  he  throws  himself  on  the 
ground,  beneath  the  overhanging  trees. 
Does  he  stop  to  consider  whether  they  are 
maples,  or  elms,  or  cottonwoods?  He  only 
looks  at  the  blue  sky,  through  the  fringes  of 
their  foliage,  and,  closing  his  eyes,  in  grate- 
ful repose,  thanks  Heaven  for  the  beauty 
and  shade  around  him. 
In  regard  to  the  uses  and  influence  of 


beauty  there  ought  to  be  but  one  opinion. 
Beauty  is  one  of  the  elements  of  civilization. 
There  is  an  indescribable  charm  about  trees 
that  awakens  the  best  side  of  one's  nature. 
We  instinctively  associated  beautiful  faces 
with  beautiful  surroundings.  The  well-kept 
lawn  and  deep-shaded  avenue  generally  be- 
tokens a  man  of  intelligent  refinement.  The 
drapery  which  clothes  the  earth  is  as  benefi- 
cial to  mankind  as  the  decorations  and  carv- 
ings in  our  houses.  A  shiftless,  worthless 
man,  always  in  debt,  with  a  swarm  of  ignor- 
ant, sore-eyed  children  about  him,  lives  in 
bare  walls,  with  no  vines  around  his  gate,  no 
glass  in  his  yard,  no  shade  to  welcome  the 
visitor  who  comes  to  his  door.  What  is  a 
tree  to  such  a  man?  Corn  and  pork  are  his 
life. 

How  beautifully  Bret  Harte  writes  of  the 
forests  of  California.  It  was  the  poet-spirit 
of  reverence  for  trees  that  made  the  early 
fathers  worship  in  the  groves  of  Britain  and 
Germany. 

It  was  this  spirit  that  lead  the  masters  of 
the  artistic  centuries  to  make  cathedrals  like 
the  aisles  of  the  forests.  In  this  way  we 
know  that  Gothic  architecture  was  created, 
and  those  who  have  walked  with  uncovered 
head  under  the  arches  of  Westminster  Abbey 
realized  the  sacred  beauty  of  the  place.  Man 
does  best  when  he  follows  most  closely  after 
nature.  Who  has  not  been  moved  by  the 
eloque  ice  of  the  trees.  What  a  history  have 
the  pines  on  our  mountains.  The  rings 
date  them  back  to  the  French  Eevolution. 
What  august  events  have  transpired  since 
their  young  boughs  first  swayed  in  the 
wintry  storms.  The  contemplation  of  beauti- 
ful nature  is  medicine  for  the  mind.  Phi- 
losophers and  poets  have  found  inspiration 
beneath  their  favorite  trees. 

What  lessons  of  innocence  and  beauty  come 
on  the  wings  of  the  whispering  winds  from 
the  trees.  Columbus  was  in  despair  until  he 
saw  drift-wood  floating  on  the  tide.  It  was 
a  branch  of  the  olive  tree  that  brought  joy  to 
the  ark. 

In  the  far-away  land  of  Circassia  and  Geor- 
gia, where  the  lofty  peaks  of  the  Caucasus 
lift  vast  forests  above  the  clouds,  the  world  is 
as  beautiful  as  a  dream.  Such  scenes  would 
make  Colorado  a  paradise.  The  beauty  of 
the  people  is  celebrated,  and  their  costumes 
an  admiration  of  Paris  to-day.  Even  the  im- 
perial garments  of  the  Czar's  household  are 
fashioned  after  the  wardrobes  of  Circassia. 
It  is  there  that  beauty  in  nature  and  beauty 
in  the  human  face  blend  like  imagery  of  a 
poem.  Here  in  Colorado  we  have  mountains, 
plains,  rivers,  valleys,  and  the  skies  of  fair 
Persia.  All  we  need  is  verdure.  "With  ver- 
dure clad,"  sings  the  chorus  in  the  oratorio 


PAPERS  BEAD  BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


17 


of  the  Creation.  "With  verdure  clad"  shall 
be  these  everlasting  plains  and  mountains, 
and  then  the  beauty  of  the  thoughts  within 
us  shall  agree  with  the  beauty  of  our  centen- 
nial heritage. 


THE  LAWS  ON  TREE  CULTURE 


BY  POSEY  S.   WILSON,   OF  FT.   COLLINS. 

It  having  been  granted  that  our  rivers 
and  rainfall  and  forests  are,  within  certain 
limits  independent,  and  that  legislation  to 
preserve  the  latter  is  needed,  it  is  next  in 
order  to  consider  the  limits  and  bearing  of 
the  question  as  indicated  by  our  State  Con- 
stitution, and  by  the  land  laws  of  the  United 
States;  and  with  them  in  view,  to  deliberate 
upou  what  laws  may  be  practicable  or  capa- 
ble of  being  administered  in  the  case. 

It  occurs  to  me,  as  I  survey  from  where  I 
write,  the  traces  of  a  recent  destructive  for- 
est fire,  that  little  good  might  be  done  by 
adding  to  enactments  against  setting  fires,  <<• 
penalty  for  leaving  unextinguished  camp 
fires.  A  policy  that  will  force  the  timber 
cutter  to  first  use  the  fallen  timber  will  do 
much  to  save  living  trees,  especially  from 
fire.  Slight  additional  good  may  be  derived 
from  a  total  repeal  by  Congress  of  the  duty 
on  unplaned  lumber — $2.00  per  "M."  Also, 
appeals  might  be  made  to  railroad  companies 
to  grant  the  lowest  rate  of  freight  on  Eastern 
lumber  that  is  consistent  with  their  own 
present  and  particular  interest  considered 
with  reference  to  their  general  interest  in 
the  public  welfare,  and  so  render  us  inde- 
pendent of  our  own  forests  so  far  as  possible. 

To  induce  the  absolute  prohibition  of  fenc- 
ing public  lauds,  save  in  cases  where  actual 
settlers  have  filed  on  homestead  or  pre-emp- 
tion claims;  to  forbid  the  destruction  of 
young  trees,  and  perhaps  to  secure  the  with- 
drawal from  settlement,  sale,  or  use  of  all 
the  living  timber  within  a  given  distance 
from  the  banks  of  every  living,  stream. 

Because  of  the  strong  currents  of  air  which 
move  in  all  this  elevated  region,  it  is  possi^e 
that  actual  raiufa1!  is  influenced,  in  a  mini- 
mum degree,  by  our  forests;  but  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  their  benefits  are  boundless,  in 
storing  snow,  and  preventing  its  too  rapid 
melting,  and  flowing  away  in  freshets,  at  a 
time  in  advance  of  the  farmers'  needs. 

So  much  am  I  radical  in  the  matter  of  pre- 
serving the  forests,  that  I  would  go  so  far  as 
to  endeavor  to  secure  for  the  State  of  Colo- 
rado, temporarily,  -at  least,  and  as  an  experi- 
ment, complete  control  of  the  foreets  within 
her  borders,  or  the  most  necessary  part  of 
them,  without  the  power  either  of  conveying 


them,  or  the  exclusive  use  of  any  part  of 
their  area  as  such.  Then  I  would  provide 
for  a  permit  system,  involving  the  officials 
of  the  several  counties,  preventing  the  citi- 
zens the  use  at  will  of  forests,  and  discrim- 
inating between  dead  and  living  trees  (wholly 
preserving  the  young  trees),  according  to  the 
citizen's  need,  or  as  the  officials  mignt  deem 
best  for  the  general  welfare. 

We  must  not  expect  too  much  resignation 
of  privilege  on  the  part  of  a  living  genera- 
tion in  behalf  of  unborn  generations,  but 
there  may  be  a  golden  mean  which  we  can 
follow,  to  the  good  of  both  ourselves  and  pos- 
terity. 

The  action  of  other  governments  in  pre- 
serving their  forests,  as  well  as  in  encourag- 
ing the  planting  of  groves,  should  teach  us 
the  limitless  value  of  our  forests.  The  zeal 
of  the  German  Government  in  behalf  of  its 
forests  a.ud  groves  is  carried  to  the  degree  of 
forbidding  the  owners  of  trees  to  cut  them 
down  without  its  consent.  Only  within  the 
last  thirty  years  was  the  method  of  preserv- 
ing forests  through  the  organization  of  For- 
estry associations  proposed.  The  first,  I  be- 
lieve, at  least  the  first  in  England,  was  held 
in  1851,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Prince  Con- 
sort. The  Queen  herself,  as  well  as  other 
members  of  the  Eoyal  Family,  was  among 
the  leading  patrons  of  the  International  For- 
estry Exhibition  held  at  Edinburgh  in  July 
last. 

The  British  Secretary  of  State  sent  circu- 
lar letters  to  all  of  that  nation's  representa- 
tives in  foreign  countries,  asking  them  to  se- 
cure the  co-operation  of  foreign  powers. 

There  were  in  attendance  representatives 
from  the  governments  of  France,  Japan, 
Denmark,  Sweden  and  Norway,  Germany, 
the  United  States,  Belgium,  Holland,  India, 
Siam,  Morocco  and  most  of  the  British  colo- 
nies. 

It  is  for  us,  also,  in  our  humble  way,  to 
consider  the  question  in  all  its  bearings,  both 
the  conserving  of  our  groves  and  the  found- 
ing of  new  ones,  and  to  recommend,  perhaps, 
that  a  School  of  Forestry  be  added  to  the 
Agricultural  College  at  Fort  Collins. 

It  is  possible  that  control  of  the  timber 
lands  within  the  State  may  be  secured,  as  an 
experiment,  from  the  General  Government, 
and  so  managed  to  obtain  revenue  from  it 
equal  to  the  minimum  price  of  Government 
land,  and  so  enable  the  State  to  pay  the  Gov- 
ernment "at  least  all  that  it  is  likely  to 
realize  from  them. 

It  should  be  the  aim  of  Forestry  to  hus- 
band the  resources  of  the  forest,  and  yet  not 
stand  in  the  way  of  the  great  mining  indus- 
tries, and  to  render,  so  far  as  is  possible,  the 
benefits  of  our  woodlands  permanent. 


18 


PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


In  the  subjoined  newspaper  scrap  is 
pointed  out  the  possibility  of  income  from 
the  forests.  Not  yet,  perhaps,  but  still — so 
rapid  is  the  forward  sweep  of  settlement— 
not  far  off,  in  time,  the  waste  of  forests  may 
be  made  to  yield  a  return  equal  to  the  cost 
of  caiing  for  the  trees: 

"A  naper  prepared  by  a  M.  Mathieu,  a 
French  chemist,  who  has  made  a  success  of 
an  apparatus  devised  by  himself  for  the 
distillation  of  wood,  appeared  to  offer  a 
practical  solution  of  the  vexed  question  of 
what  to  do  with  the  debris  of  logging.  The 
device  consists  of  a  number  of  iron  retorts 
set  in  a  brickwork  frame  in  such  a  way  that 
they  can  conveniently  and  safely  be  filled 
with  wood,  chips,  sawdust,  etc.  The  pro- 
ducts obtained  from  a  cord  of  hard  wood  are 
reported  to  be  on  the  average: 

62  bushels  charcoal  at  6c $  3  72 

4*k  gallon^  wood  alcohol  at  85c 3   82 

160  pounds  acetate  of  lime  at  l^c 2  40 

10  gallons  tar  at  4c 40 


$10  34 

Deduct  for  labor,  lime,  use  of  material 
and  interest 3  00 


Balance $  7  34 

From  yellow  pine  the  results  are  per  cord  : 

63  bush  els  charcoal  at  6c $  3  78 

12  gallons  pine  tar  at  7c ••          84 

11  gallons  turpentine  at  35c 3  85 

1  gallon  wood  alcohol  at  85c 85 

4o  pounds  acetate  of  lime  at  l^c ... ,     60 


Deduct  for  labor,  lime,  etc. 


9  92 
2   50 


Balance. 


...?  7  42 


"Norway  pine  yields  'ess  turpentine  than 
yellow  pine,  and  white  pine  more  alcohol' 
and  less  turpentine.  The  charcoal  is  valua- 
ble for  blast  furnaces,  rolling  mills,  gas,  etc. 
The  volatile  products  are  in  demand  in  a 
vast  variety  of  arts  and  mechanical  pro- 
cesses, and  new  use  for  them  is  constantly 
arising.  Wood  alcohol,  e.g.,  is  used  in  many 
kinds  of  varnish  or  for  any  use  for  which 
common  alcohol  is  used,  except  for  a  bever- 
age, and  its  unfitness  for  the  latter  purpose 
exempts  it  from  the  excise  tax.  The  acetate 
of  lime  is  used  in  making  acetic  acid  for  em- 
ployment in  white  lead  manufacture,  in 
print  works,  dyeing,  tanning,  paint,  etc. 
^"M.  Mathieu  ha3  devised  an  apparatus  for 
use  in  logging  camps,  which  would  be  port- 
able. There  are  several  large  plants  already 
at  work;  one  of  fifty -six  retorts  at  St.  Ignace, 
Michigan,  in  connection  with  the  Martel  fur- 
nace; one  of  fifty-six  retorts  at  Newberry, 
Michigan,  conn  acted  with  the  Vulcan  Works; 
another  of  twenty-four  retorts  is  at  Port 
Leyden,  in  Northern  New  York,  connected 
with  an  iron  company.  There  are  others  in 


Ontario,  Ohio,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania  and 
Alabama." 


SUGGESTED      LEGISLATION 
CONCERNING  FORESTRY. 

BY  W.  W.  PARDEE  OF  DENVER,  COLORADO. 

Even  in  a  country  where  the  rainfall  is 
sufficient  to  produce  abundant  crops,  the 
protection  of  the  forests  is  for  the  public 
good;  but  in  a  country  like  Colorado,  where 
agriculture  can  only  be  carried  on  by  means 
of  irrigation,  the  question  of  preserving  the 
natural  forests  and  cultivating  artificial  ones, 
is  of  paramount  importance  to  the  public, 
because  the  mountain  forests  are  the  great 
natural  generators  of  moisture,  which  gives 
birth  to  our  mountain  streams,  and  these 
streams  afford  means  of  irrigation. 

Agriculture  in  Colorado  has  grown  to  its 
present  proportions  only  by  means  of  irriga- 
tion, and  we  seek  to  extend  it;  and  yet, while 
we  seek  to  extend  it,  we  are,  by  denuding 
our  mountains  of  their  natural  forests,  grad- 
ually but  surely  cutting  off  our  water  supply. 
Either  the  wholesale  destruction  of  our  moun- 
tain forests  must  be  stopped,  or  agriculture  in 
Colorado  will  be  stopped.  The  combined  in- 
dustries of  Colorado  are  rapidly  stripping  our 
mountains  of  our  timber.  If  this  course  is 
pursued  for  a  generation,  our  forests  will  be 
gone,  our  mining  interests  will  be  seriously 
depleted,  and  our  agricultural  interests  will 
be  cut  off.  Stock  raising  on  our  plains  may 
prosper  to  some  extent,  but  the  home  market 
for  that  industry  will  be  largely  lost. 

It  is  the  work  of  this  association  to  modify 
the  destruction  of  the  forests,  and  to  encour- 
age their  growth  and  preservation;  to  point 
out  ways  and  means  whereby  new  and  arti- 
ficial forests  may  be  created. 

The  woodland  of  Colorado  is  owned  in 
part  by  the  State,  by  private  individuals  and 
corporations,  but  largely  by  the  General  Gov- 
ernment. To  accomplish  the  objects  sought 
by  this  association,  we  must  secure  legisla- 
tion by  the  State  and  the  Nat.'onal  Govern- 
ment. The  State  and  National  Government 
should  only  allow  the  large  and  mature  for- 
est trees  to  be  used,  and  should  afford  every 
means  to  encourage  the  growth  of  the 
smaller  trees.  Irrigating  ditch  companies 
should  be  held  to  be  common  carriers  of  the 
public  water,  and  the  State  should  stipulate 
on  what  terms  and  conditions  they  should  be 
operated. 

Large  reservoi  s  for  storing  irrigating 
water  should  be  constructed  among  the  foot- 
hills or  on  land  sufficiently  high  for  the  pur- 
pose of  irrigating  the  farm  land  below.  When 


PAPERS  HEAD   BEFORE  THE   ASSOCIATION. 


19 


there  is  a  scarcity  of  water,  ditch  companies 
should  be  required  to  only  let  water  flow 
when  and  where  needed. 

Said  ditch  companies  should  be  required  to 
plant  and  maintain  a  row  of  forest  trees  along 
the  line  of  such  ditches.  The  State  should, 
by  suitable  laws,  grant  substantial  and 
adequate  inducements  to  all  persons 
within  the  State  who  will  plant  and  cultivate 
forest  and  other  trees.  The  State  could 
afford  to  reward  such  persons,  because  by 
cultivating  trees,  they  assist  in  maintaining 
artificial  forests,  and  hence  become  public 
benefactors.  The  General  Government  was 
wise  in  providing  the  Timber  Culture  Act — 
the  only  fault  witn  it  is  that  it  does  not  offer 
sufficient  inducement  to  those  who  take 
public  land  under  it.  The  person  who  takes 
public  land  under  said  act,  gets  no  more  land 
than  he  who  takes  a  homestead ;  and  yet  the 
government  asks  him  to  expend  in  time, 
labor  and  money,  in  cultivating  ten  acres  in 
timber  trees  more  than  $1,000  before  he  gets 
a  patent  to  said  land.  And  yet  said  ten  acres 
of  newly  made  forest,  to  be  kept  up  and 
maintained  by  him,  by  expensive  irrigation 
and  cultivation,  is  in  fact  for  the  benefit  of 
the  general  public.  The  law  should  be  so 
amended  as  to  set  apart  a  certain  portion  of 
the  public  domain — that  can  be  irrigated — 
to  be  planted  and  cultivated  in  forest  and 
other  trees,  at  the  public  expense  T.hen  the 
whole  country  would  be  benefited.  The  at- 
tempt by  Congress  last  session  to  repeal  the 
timber  culture  act  was  uuwise,  to  say  the 
least.  The  General  Government  has  ex- 
pended large  sums  of  money  in  sinking  ar- 
tesian wells,  to  no  purpose.  Now  let  it  enact 
wise  and  liberal  laws  which  will  protect  and 
preserve  the  forests  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
range  and  thus  maintain  the  present  water 
supply  for  the  arid  plains.  This  matter 
should  be  urged  upon  our  representatives  in 
Congress. 

A  WOMAN'S   VIEWS   OP   FOR- 
ESTRY. 


BY  MKS.  A.  L.  WASHBURNE  OF  LOVELAND. 

I  regret  exceedingly  that  circumstances 
over  which  I  have  no  control  (a  polite  name 
for  "hard  times")  prevents  my  attendance  at 
this  your  first  convention.  I  hope  to  be 
present  at  your  first  annual  meeting  in  1885. 
for  I  foresee  a  great  work  before  you,  and  one 
which  calls  for  a  permanent  organization. 

There  is  certainly  "cause  for  action."  Al- 
ready our  mountain  sides  present  a  bare  and 
uninviting  appearance  compared  to  the  dark 
wooded  slopes  of  twenty  years  ago;  and 
destruction  of  their  beauty  has,  as  is  almost 


always  the  case,  kept  pace  with  that  of  their 
utility.  The  beautiful  nines  which  once 
formed  for  the  eye  of  the  lonely  emigrant 
and  settler  so  agreeable  a  contrast  to  the 
gigantic  rocks  which  lifted  their  seamed  and 
scarred  surfaces  to  the  sunlight  have  been 
mostly  destroyed  by  fires  wantonly  set  or 
carelessly  neglected. 

The  use  of  the  house-logs  and  fencing  of 
the  scattered  settlers  are  but  as  a  drop  in  the 
bucket  to  the  loss  by  fire.  But  lamentations 
are  vain;  the  question  now  is  how  best  to  re- 
pair the  damage  of  the  past  and  to  replace 
our  beautiful  and  useful  forests.  While  to 
many  minds  this  question  will  pre- 
sent itself  in  a  purely  finan- 
cial light,  involving  the  loss  and 
the  replacement  of  millions  of  dollars' 
worth  of  lumber,  cordwood,  ties,  fencing  and 
charcoal,  to  me  there  is  also  a  moral  aspect 
to  be  considered,  reminding  us  of  the  Golden 
Rule,  and  the  perpetual  obligations  of  moral 
beings  to  work  for  the  "greatest  goo  to  the 
greatest  number."  The  higher  law,  which 
keeps  each  within  the  sphere  of  his  own  per- 
sonal rights  and  teaches  us  to  as  carefally 
abstain  from  infringing  on  those  of  others, 
must  be  applied  in  daily  practice  to  the  tim- 
ber question,  and  would  do  much  to  put  an 
end  to  the  terrible  conflagrations  which  have 
denuded  our  hillsides  of  their  verdure,  for 
even  a  mountain  fire  of  six  weeks'  duration, 
extending  over  many  miles  of  forest,  began 
somewhere  in  a  tiny  flame  which  might 
in  most  cases  have  been  extinguished  in  a 
moment  if  the  unselfish  will  were  present. 
The  love  of  trees  and  the  intimate  know  edge 
of  their  individual  characteristics  should  be 
taught  to  the  young.  There  is  no  study  of 
nature  more  enchanting.  It  is  a  study  which 
lures  one  on  and  on  after  the  attention  is 
once  directed  to  it.  I  have  seen  a  class 
charmed  and  interested  while  a  teacher  spoke 
of  the  different  trees  in  their  school  yard— 
their  habits  of  growth,  their  smooth,  shiny 
leaves  or  those  beautifully  notched  or  scal- 
loped, all  so  similar  that  each  tree  was  recog- 
nized at  a  glance,  and  yet  so  diverse  that  of 
the  thousands  or  millions  of  leaves  on  one 
tree,  no  two  were  alike. 

And  from  their  own  trees  to  those  in  their 
neighbor's  yards,  from  the  hill  to  the  river 
bank,  from  the  plain  to  the  mountain,  each 
native  tree  fitted  to  its  own  location,  and 
each  one  of  foreign  origin  adapting  itself,  as 
best  it  may,  to  its  new  surrounding.  An  oc- 
casional question  brings  forth  surprising  re- 
plies from  the  children,  some  of  the  bright 
ones  showing  unusual  powers  of  observation 
and  original  thought.  From  their  appear- 
ance, natural  situation  and  habits,  children 
are  easily  led  to  consider,  the  uses  of  trees, 


20 


PAPERS  READ   BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


whether  as  ornaments  in  a  rural  landscape, 
for  shade  or  for  application  in  the  thousand 
and  one  arts  where  wood  is  used;  and  thus, 
as  we  cherish  what  we  love,  the  rising  gener- 
ation will  for  love  of  the  trees  and  of  each 
others  welfare  preserve  the  forests.  And, 
further,  as  we  cannot  truly  love  even  a  tree 
or  bush  without  becoming  more  gentle  and 
refined,  the  improvement  of  character  and 
consequent  multiplication  of  kind  acts  and 
the  ameneties  of  life  will  be  in  time  the 
work  of  this  association,  and  future  bene- 
ficiaries of  your  present  wise  and  unselfiish 
action  will  murmur:  ''They  builded  better." 


TREE-PLANTING   ON    FARMS. 


BY  J.  H.   BEERY   OF  FRUITA. 

The  preservation  of  the  timber  on  the 
mountains  will  no  doubt  require  State  or  na- 
tional legislation,  but  if  tree-planting  in  the 
mountains  is  to  be  a  success,  which  in  course 
of  time  it  may  be,  a  great  point  will  be  gained 
by  having  the  lower  valleys  planted  first.  To 
gain  this  end  it  would  be  very  necessary  to 
get  the  farmers  to  understand  that  it  would 
b<-  to  their  interest  to  grow  trees  on  their 
farms.  Why  should  not  the  farmers  in  the 
valleys  have  a  belt  of  trees  round  their 
farms,  and  where  the  fields  are  divided  have 
a  row  of  trees?  If  they  don't  want  to  plant 
forest  trees  such  ss  ash,  elm,  maple,  sycamore 
and  such  large  trees,  why  let  them  plant 
fruit  trees,  such  as  apples,  pears,  apricots, 
peaches,  etc.  They  will  beautify  the  country 
and  at  the  same  time  help  to  fill  their  own 
pockets,  besides  supplying  the  family  with 
all  the  fruit  they  want  to  use. 
These  rows  of  trees  spread 
across  the  valleys  will  act  as  a 
shelter  to  the  field  by  breaking  the  force  of 
the  strong,  dry  winds  that  at  certain  seasons 
of  the  year  sweep  over  the  valleys  and  carry 
away  the  last  particle  of  moisrure  there  is  in 
the  ground.  Everyone  who  has  lived  for  a 
few  seasons  in  these  valleys  knows  how  dry- 
ing these  winds  are.  Now,  if  those  valleys 
were  protected  by  rows  of  trees  stretched 
across  their  whole  breadth,  evaporation  would 
go  on  much  more  slowly,  and  consequently 
there  would  be  less  necessity  for  so  much  ir- 
rigation with  cold  water,  and  the  crops  would 
be  all  the  better,  as  the  water  in  the  early 
part  of  the  season  is  apt  to  chill  the  ground 
and  consequently  retard  growth. 

To  keep  the  trees  growing  there  is  always 
an  abundant  supply  of  water  running  in  the 
ditches  at  all  necessary  seasons,  so  that  irri- 
gating them  would  be  no  extra  labor 
or  expense.  If  this  plan  were  carried 
out  as  far  back  towards  the  moun- 


tains as  the  highest  ditch,  of  course 
time  would  be  required,  but  if  only  once 
fairly  started  and  a  little  patience  exercised, 
these  valleys  could  be  made  to  look  lovely 
and  more  than  pay  for  all  the  expense  in- 
curred, ai°d  be  an  ornamont  to  the  State  and 
form  a  splendid  contrast  to  the  mountains  in 
the  vicinity.  Such  will  be  the  resulc  in  a 
few  years  if  each  farmer  will  lend  a  hand; 
every  little  town  sb.ows  a  good  example.  The 
streets  *,re  scarcely  laid  off  when  up  start 
rows  of  trees  as  soon  as  a  drop  of  water  can 
be  had,  even  if  it  has  to  be  hauled  from  the 
rivers.  Why  should  the  country  people  be 
so  far  behind  where  shelter  and  shade  is  so 
much  wanted? 

The  quantity  of  cotton  wood  seed  annually 
carried  down  by  the  wa^er  in  the  main 
ditches  will  soon  have  the  banks  one  mass  of 
these  trees,  but  what  is  wanted  is  a  better 
class  of  timber;  could  not  some  of  the  enter- 
prising owners  of  these  ditches  see  that  it 
would  be  their  interest  to  plant  some  of  the 
hundreds  of  miles  of  the  banks  of  their 
ditches  wioh  some  good  fo  est  trees,  say 
catalpa,  ash,  elm,  maples  of  different  kinds, 
sycamore,  tulp  poplar,  and  hickory  and  Wal- 
nuts. Cedar,  spruce  and  pine  would  also  grow 
there,  and  by  so  doing,  in  a  few  years  they 
would  save  enough  on  evaporation  alone  to 
pay  f  >rthe  work,  and  stiengthen  their  ba?  ks 
and  have  the  timber  getting  ready  for  use. 

As  far  back  as  this  the  planting  and  grow- 
ing of  trees  would  be  comparatively  easy  and 
sure  from  the  first  start.  Now  we  come  to 
the  foot-hills,  where  irrigation  is  necessary 
as  a  rule,  but  where  water  is  scarce  when 
wanted.  Of  course  in  eaily  spring  thrre  is 
rleuty  rain  fall  most  seasons,  and  trees  pi  anted 
as  early  as  possible  in  spring  may  get  enough 
moisture  to  keep  them  growing  till  July,  at 
which  time  they  can  have  a  good  hold  of  the 
ground.  After  that  time  the  rains  are  uncer- 
tain, and  success  would  depend  mainly  on 
the  hold  the  roots  had  got  in  the  ground  and 
whether  there  was  any  vegetation  to  shade 
the  ground.  Higher  up  in  the  mountains, 
with  the  exception  of  the  moist  valleys,  suc- 
cess would  be  very  uncertain,  K,sthe  quantity 
of  seeds  that  annually  fall  from  the  trees  and 
find  no  place  to  vegetate  amply  shows. 


ABOUT  NUT  TREES. 


BY  H.  B.  SNYDER  OF  COLORADO  SPRINGS. 

As  fall  is  coming  on  leaves  and  nuts  will 
begin  to  fall;  and  this  reminds  me  that 
something  may  profitably  be  said  on  the  sub- 
ject of  planting  nut  trees.  It  seems  to  me 
that  an  effort  should  be  made  to  supply  that 
which  has  been  denied  this  section  of  the 


PAPERS   READ   BEFORE   THE   ASSOCIATION. 


21 


country  for  perhaps  a  million  of  years,  when 
palm  trees,  Brazil  nuts  and  other  tropical 
growths  flourished  in  this  section  -  a  fact  of 
which  there  is  abundant  evidence.. 

Undoubtedly  the  best  way  to  procure  good 
seed  is  to  send  to  friends  in  the  East  for  wal- 
nuts, butternuts,  chestnuts,  hazelnuts,  also 
black  oak,  white  oak  seeds,  etc.  Have  the 
nuts  gathered  with  the  hull  on  and  packed 
in  moss  or  damp  leaves,  and  sent  by  express 
and  immediately  planted  where  they  are 
wanted  to  grow.  Cover  the  seeds  with 
leaves,  which  can  be  gathered  when 
the  cottonwoods  shed  their  foliage.  The 
nuts  can  be  had  of  seedsmen,  but  few 
of  them  will  have  been  properly 
cared  for,  and  the  balance  will  not 
grow.  When  they  fall  from  the  trees,  nuts 
are  immediately  covered  with  leaves.  The 
frost  and  sun  burst  them  open  during  tho 
winter  and  they  shoot  up  in  the  spring. 
Young  trees  can  be  obtained  from  the  nur- 
serymen, but  these  have  the  tap-roat  cut 
back,  which  makes  them  undesirable  for  our 
dry  climate.  All  nut-bearing  trees  throw 
down  into  the  earth  a  taproot  as  deep 
as  the  tree  grows,  unless  in  very  moist 
places.  The  chestnut  grows  well  in 
rough  places  and  mountainous  regions. 

These  nut  trees  are  more  desirable  for 
wood  or  lumber  than  the  cottonwood,  are 
cleaner,  and  bear  something  for  the  benefit 
of  man.  It  requires  a  much  longer  time  for 
the  nut-bearers  to  mature,  but  it  pays  on  the 
long  pull. 

The  writer  of  this  planted  walnut  four 
years  ago,  in  hard  abode  ground,  and  the 
trees  are  now  four  feet  high.  After  the  first 
year  they  commenced  growing  in  good 
earnest. 


FOREST    CULTURE    IN    COLO- 
RADO. 


BY  ALBERT  BORCHERDT  OF  DENVER. 

In  regard  to  the  importance  of  the  matter 
to  be  deliberated  to-day  by  your  honorable 
Board,  I  take  the  liberty  of  presenting  my 
opinion  about  forest  culture,  being  as  well  a 
theoretical  as  a  practical  forester. 

Through  science  and  literature  we  learn 
that  the  character  of'  a  land,  being  deprived 
of  its  trees,  changes  entirely,  the  climate  be- 
coming a  rougher  one,  the  fogs  getting 
scarcer,  the  springs  of  the  rivulets  drying  up; 
thus  a  once  fertile  country  is  turned  into  a 
desert;  further  we  read,  that  a  tree  of  middle 
size  evaporates  from  ten  to  twenty  tons  of 
moisture  per  year,  which  we  receive  as  rain, 
snow  or  dew.  The  rainspouts  taking  place 
from  time  to  time  excepted,  no  fog  will  be 


perceived  in  a  country  where  there  are  no 
trees,  and  in  such  region  the  avalanches 
prove  to  be  exceedingly  disastrous,  as  no 
stems  weaken  their  vehement  course. 

It  is  the  highest  time  for  the  citizens  of 
the  State  of  Colorado  to  stop  the  nefarious 
devastation  of  timber,  that  takes  place  un- 
molested, or  it  will  be  impossible  to  nurse 
any  more  frees,  because  the  rain-spouts  men- 
tioned above  are  bound  to  wash  away  the 
stratums  where  formerly  the  wood  stood. 

We  cannot  deny  that  pinus  pivea  and  pinus 
abies  yet  thrive  at  a  high  altitude,  but  we 
must  take  into  consideration  that  the  roots 
of  the  older  trees  get  their  nourishment 
through  the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  young 
plants  needing  positively  a  stratum. 

The  Spanish  Government  tried  several 
times  to  nurse  young  forests  on  the  strata  of 
the  Pyrennes  cleared  from  wood;  this  proved 
no  success,  as  the  rain-spouts  and  storms  had 
removed  the  stratum  from  the  rocks.  We 
are  bound  to  witness  the  same  result  in  our 
country,  if  the  culture  of  forests  should  be 
neglected,  further  on. 

For  a  rational  culture  of  forests,  to  start 
with,  nurseries  have  to  be  established,  well 
fenced,  so  that  they  are  protected  against 
cattle  as  well  as  against  great  game.  The 
seed  is  put  in  riUs,  having  an  interval  of 
three  inches  the  one  from  the  other.  Should 
any  weeds  make  their  appearance  wiohin  a 
nursery,  they  ought  to  be  removed  at  once. 
After  a  period  of  three  or  four  years, 
the  young  plants  may  be  moved  and  re- 
planted there  where  they  have  to  form  a  forest 
later  on.  Pines  especially  have  to  be  treated 
thus.  In  saying  more  about  the  culture  of 
forests,  I  would  lay  claim  in  too  high  a  de- 
gree on  your  patience,  anyho  v  let  me  state 
that  the  culture  of  forests  cannot  be  carried 
on  except  by  an  expert. 

Culture  of  forests  wants  a  strict  law  for  the 
protection  of  birds,  as  all  kinds  of  them  assist 
us  in  performing  this  useful  work. 

The  birds  feasting  upon  insects  save  many 
plants,  because,  besides  various  other  scara- 
bus,  they  devour  the  bark  scaraf,  the  worst 
enemy  of  the  forest  to  be  found.  Those  tak- 
ing the  seed  for  nourishment  are  useful  by 
planting  trees,  so  we  find  often  young  plants 
where  there  is  no  tree  in  the  neighborhood. 
The  seed  has  been  carried  thereby  our  winged 
friends.  More  useful  a  being  than  all  others, 
the  jay  bird  (garratus  onstatus)  proves  to  be  in 
this  regard. 

The  birds  of  prey,  especially  the  owls,  need 
protection.  They  are  the  ones  that  kill  the 
moles,  the  common  rats,  etc.,  that  undermine 
the  fresh  cultures  and  gnaw  the  growing 
plants. 

If  those  birds  do  any  harm  on  a  farm-, 


22 


PAPERS  READ  BEFORE   THE  ASSOCIATION. 


yard,  they  ought  to  he  shot,  but  on  the  fields 
they  always  will  be  useful  to  the  farmer. 

Hence  the  Legislature  should  protect  the 
birds  by  ordering  a  bill,  prohibiting  the  kill- 
ing of  any  bird,  grouse,  prairie  chickens, 
wild  geese,  ducks  and  suipe  exoepted,  and  by 
ordering  a  bill  that  forces  every  man  willing 
to  hunt  to  procure  a  license,  and  such  license 
should  not  be  issued  for  less  than  $5,  minors 
per  se  excluded,  as  they  always  have  proved 
to  be  the  birds'  worst  enemies. 


FORESTRY  IN  COLORADO. 

BY  PEOF.  JAS.  CASSIDY,  OF  THE  AGRIC'L  COLLEGE. 

I  cannot  indulge  in  the  hope  that  what  I 
may  say  to  you  to-day  will  have  the  novelty 
of  freshness,  but  I  content  myself  with  the 
reflection  that  it  is  often  profitable  to  re- 
view again  principles  and  facts  in  nature 
that  may  have  been  once  familiar,  and  es- 
pecially important  I  deem  it,  assembled  as 
we  are  here  in  convention,  for  the  purpose  of 
impressing  public  attention  with  the  import- 
ance of  the  Forestry  question  in  its  several 
aspects,  to  the  citizens  not  alone  of  this  State, 
but  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  at 
large.  The  word  Forestry  is  as  yet  a  new 
one  to  many  people.  This  is  but  natural, 
inhabiting,  as  we  do,  a  country  wealthy  in 
timber  resources,  to  which,  until  recently, 
we  felt  there  was  no  limit.  Forestry  is  the 
application  of  science  and  skill  to  woodcraft. 
It  is  the  result  of  long  continued  observation 
and  study  of  all  that  relates  to  the  planting, 
treatment,  disposition  and  utilization  of 
trees  produced  on  lands  especially  set  apart 
for  them.  Its  subject  matter  is  so  volumin- 
ous and  varied  that  it  has  been  found  neces- 
sary to  classify  and  subdivide  it  into  five 
separate  divisions,  i.e.,  sylvaculture,  conser- 
vancy, utilization  and  organization— the 
history,  laws  and  political  economy  of  forest 
administration. 

Without  stopping  to  inquire  into  the  rela- 
tions forestry  bore  in  earlier  times  to  hunt- 
ing and  the  chase,  we  may  for  the  present 
awume  that  for  us  forestry  has  special  refer- 
ence to  the  conservancy,  utilization  and 
organization  of  existing  public  forest  lands, 
by  means  of  an  efficient  State  Forestry  De- 
partment. 

Our  tree-planting  on  the  plains  may  be 
more  appropriately  termed  woodlands  than 
forests.  Planted  in  lines  of  one  or  of  several 
rows  of  trees,  intended  to  break  currents  of 
air,  they  constitute  hedge-rows,  wind-breakes 
and  shelter-belts. 

In  all  ages  of  the  world's  history  man  has 
been  a  destructive  agent  rather  than  a  con- 
server  of  the  gifts  of  nature,  in  fitting  the 


earth  for  his  continued  occupancy  on  a  high 
plane  of  civilization.  The  pages  of  history 
exhibit  abundant  evidence  of  this  in  the 
progress  of  man  up  to  the  present  day,  ex- 
hibititing  as  it  does  his  ability  and  desire  to 
investigate  the  physical  condition  of  the 
earth,  and  to  estimate  the  past,  present  and 
prospective  result  of  his  own  labor,  as  it  has 
helped  shape  these  conditions  to  suit  his  own 
purposes. 

As  man  multiplied  and  extended  his  agri- 
cultural industry,  he  naturally  trenched  on 
the  forest,  which   once  covered  the  greater 
part  of  the  earth's  surface.      In  the  removal 
of  the  forests,   with    all    their    vast    conse- 
quental  influences,  we  are  brought  to  realize 
men's  ability  as  a  transforming  power,  seen 
in  the  changed  condition  of  earth   and  clini- 
ate.      Countries    once    densely  peopled  are 
now  a  vacant  and   bleak  wilderness,  brought 
about,  we  know,  by  the  slow  and   sure  result 
of  man's  own  improvidence.       And    as    we 
look  at  the  evidences  of  a  high  civilization 
that  showed  once  a  dense  population   over 
the    present    thinly    inhabited    districts    of 
Western  Asia,  Northern  Africa  and  Southern 
Europe,  we  may  apply  to  this  vast  region 
our  present   theory  of   cause  and   effect,  and 
in    the  gradual    diminution    of    the   forest 
area,       a        corresponding        change        in 
climate,    and   a    diminished  productiveness 
of  soil.    Such  physical   changes  in  this  once 
garden    of  the   world    extended    over    vast 
epochs  of  time,   but  owing  to  the  advanced 
condition   of  science  and  art  at  this  time, 
these,  people  were  enabled  to  conceive  and 
execute    gigantic    works    of   irrigation,    by 
which    the  mountain    streams  were  spread 
upon  the  thirsty  land  and  so  prolonged  man's 
occupancy  of  these  fair  fields.    It  is  indeed 
lamentable  to   compare  the  present  physical 
condition  of  these    countries    with  the  ac- 
count given  us  by  the  ancient  historians  of 
heir  glorious  agriculture  of  the  past;  their 
luxurious    fields   of  cereals  waved  over  hill 
and  dale,  and  every  accompaniment  of  a  suc- 
cessful system  of  agriculture  was  theirs.    All 
this  wealth,  however,  the,  cumulation  of  ages 
of  toil,  has  been  surrendered  to  desolation, 
and    extensive     districts     are    now     with- 
out   commerce,    art    or   agriculture.     Their 
forests       are       a       thing       of     the     past; 
the    virgin    earth,  the  cumulations  of  ages, 
has  disappeared,  the  once  fruitful  meadows 
are  unproductive,  because  the  water  supply, 
;he  reservoirs,  have  dried  up.     Eivers  like 
;he  Jordan  fail  to  reach  the  sea  and  the  trees 
that  shaded  and  protected  their  banks  have 
disappeared;  the  rivulets  cease  to  exist  in 
summer*  but  in  spring  are  roaring  torrents. 
And  all  this  the  result  of  man's  selfish  disre- 
gard of  the  laws  of  nature.    While  man  may 


PAPERS  BEAD  BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


23 


for  a  time  fight  oppression  and  the  destruc- 
tive forces  of  inorganic  n»  ture,  he  eventually, 
however,  after  a  contest  more  or  less  ex- 
tended, yields  the  fields  he  has  -won  from 
primeval  nature  to  ruin  and. desolation.  And 
so  on  do^n  to  modern  times  has  man's  evil 
abuse  of  nature  been  extended,  until  to-day  a 
halt  is  called  on  this  great  continent  that  we 
may  avert  the  threatened  ruin.  It  is  but  a 
few  years  ago  that  this  country  awakened  to 
a  realizing  sense  of  the  situation,  to  the 
necessity  of  restoring  the  disturbed  har- 
monies of  nature,  whose  well-bal- 
anced influences  are  so  propitious 
to  all  her  organic  offspring,  repaying  to  our 
mother  earth  the  debt  which  the  improvi- 
dence of  former  generations  has  left  us  as  a 
legacy.  The  value  of  forests  must  be  meas- 
ured solely  by  their  usefulness  to  man  in 
some  form  or  other,  and  as  the  chief  wealth 
of  any  nation  is  its  population,  so  the  forest, 
as  well  as  many  other  things,  has  had  to  give 
way  to  that,  but  notwithstanding  the  recog- 
nized importance  of  the  preservation  of  a  due 
proportion  of  the  land  in  forest  growth,  it  is 
indeed  but  seldom  that  a  civilized  country 
has  ever  seen  fit  to  preserve  a  proper  propor- 
tion of  its  surface  in  forest  growth. 

The  art  of  forestry  must  grow  in  impor- 
tance as  the  world  grows  older  and  becomes 
more  populous — the  needs  of  a  growing  pop- 
ulation must  be  met.  Sylvaculture  here 
steps  in  and  provides  the  remedy,  for  it  aims 
at  the  culture  in  the  smallest  practicable  area 
of  the  greatest  number  of  the  most  desirable 
forms  of  trees,  best  adapted \o  our  local  wants. 
In  earlier  times,  for  obvious  reasons,  the  re- 
moval of  the  forest  caused  no  uneasiness. 
But  in  course  of  time  unfavorable  results  be- 
gan to  manifest  themselves,  and  led  to  the 
framing  of  many  laws  at  an  early  period  in 
the  history  of  many  nations;  and  even  where 
no  laws  were  passed,  indications  are  not 
wanting  lo  show  that  the  waste  of  trees  by 
ignorance  or  cupidity  was  not  unnoticed. 
Among  ancient  nations  we  find  the  forests 
were  placed  under  officers  of  high  rank  in 
the  State.  In  Japan,  an  ancient  law  pro- 
vides that  wnere  a  tree  was  cut  down  another 
must  be  planted  in  its  stead.  The  ancient 
Germans  framed  laws  for  the  marking  of 
trees  to  be  felled,  and  in  certain  cases  pun- 
ished with  death  infractions  of  these  rules. 
But  in  spite  of  all  laws,  man's  ignorance,  sel- 
fishness and  want  of  forethought,  combined 
to  waste  and  ruin  forests  which  should  have 
been  preserved  as  an  inheritance  for  future 
generations. 

So  intimately  connected  are  plants  and  ani- 
mals, that  if  we  interfere  with  a  species  we 
cannot  tell  what  results  will  ensue.  The 
mere  enclosure  of  a  piece  of  land  to  exclude 


cattle  from  it,  induces  great  changes,  as  was 
frequently  noticed  by  Darwin.  By  cutting 
down  our  forests  indiscriminately  we  destroy 
a  number  of  species  of  plants  that  eannot 
live  in  a  dry  climate,  and  with  "these  go  a 
number  of  insects,  which  depend  upon  these 
plants  exclusively  for  their  food.  Again,  the 
change  in  the  insect  fauna  effected  by  the 
abolition  of  the  forest,  will  probably  have  a 
marked  effect  upon  the  birds  of  the  district. 
The  latter  are  the  natural  protectors  of 
plants.  Insects  are  Nature's  cheeks  upon 
plants  to  prevent  their  too  rapid  increase,  for 
if  the  former  were  te  increase  too  rapidly 
certain  plants  would  disappear  altogether. 
To  obviate  this  contingency  the  smaller  birds 
are  given  us  as  a  check  upon  insects,  and 
that  the  later  shall  not  increase  unduly,  the 
smaller  birds  of  prey  hold  them  in  check, 
and  so  all  created  things  have  an  indirect 
connection  with  one  another,  and  the  result 
is  that  the  most  perfect  harmony  is  the  law 
of  Nature.  To  man  is  given  the  power  to 
modify  these  conditions,  either  for  or  against 
his  interests,  as  he  will;  too  often,  indeed, 
the  latter,  due  no  doubt  in  large  measure 
to  his  ignorance  of  those  laws,  by  which  the 
whole  universe  is  goverened,  and  ly  which 
the  most  perfect  harmony  in  Nature,  not- 
withstanding its  diversity,  is  maintained. 
It  follows,  then,  from  the  close  inter-depend- 
ence that  obtains  throughout  all  Nature,  that 
many  plants,  and  animals,  are  dependent  for 
their  continued  existence,  upon  circumstan- 
ces created  by  trees,  particularly  when 
grouped  as  forests.  In  man's  case,  there  is 
no  necessity,  there  is  no  possibility,  of  exag- 
gerating this  obligation;  for  man  himself  is 
absolutely  dependent  upon  plant  life  for  his 
existence.  Except  salt,  and  water,  and  air, 
there  is  not  a  mineral  substance  which  ani- 
mals can  use  directly  as  food.  Their  food 
must  be  organic;  and  forest  growth,  in  com- 
mon with  more  humble  vegetation,  serves  to 
link  together  the  animal,  the  mineral,  and 
man,  the 'clod  of  the  field. 

But  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  powers  of  Nature,  its  elements, 
and  manifestations,  so  indispensable  to  the 
welfare  of  the  whole  people,  is  so  rapidly 
gainiog  ground  among  us;  as,  upon  a  right 
use  of  this  knowledge,  so  much  is  dependent. 
The  health  of  the  forests  is  the  health  of  the 
people.  Our  Nation,  after  slumbering  100 
years,  is  beginning  to  open  its  eyes.  The 
reason  of  the  profound  sleep  is  that,  till  a 
little  while  ago,  nobody  knew  what  air,  wa- 
ter, and  earth  were  made  of,  how  plants 
grew,  or  whether  their  growth  had  any  rela- 
tion to  animal  life,  or  not. 

By  promoting  forests  we  shall  preserve  the 
streams.  Fountains  and  purling  brooks 


24 


PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


can  only  gladden  our  summer  by  having  a 
sufficiency  of  forest  growth  to  protect  the 
land  from  the  pitiless  sun.  What  does  our 
civilization  amount  to  if  it  cannot  preserve 
and  increase  the  conditions  of  the  highest 
health  for  the  human  race  and  its  auxiliaries? 
Truly  ''there  are  hooks  in  trees,"  and  in 
every  leaf  a  tribute  to  him  who  planteth 
them. 

From  the  foregoing  examples  we  may  read- 
ily infer  the  gravity  of  the  situation  to  our- 
selves. This  country  is  no  exception  to  the 
laws  of  nature.  Why  should,  it  be?  Many 
portions  of  this  country  already  feel  the  first 
symptoms  of  that  general  deterioration  of  the 
eartn,  which  is  nature's  retribution  lor  the 
disturbance  of  her  harmonies,  evidenced  in 
uncertain  climate,  floods  ever  increasing  in 
number  and  direful  consequences,  streams  no 
longer  to  be  relied  on,  savage  winds  against 
whose  violence  there  is  no  barrier,  blighting 
vegetation,  intensifying  disease,  inducing  de- 
rangement of  the  seasons,  and  in  the  old,  set- 
tled States  ending  in  the  abandonment  of 
lands  once  fertile.  It  is,  indeed,  to  be  feared 
that  we  will  not  in  this  country  recognize 
the  value  of  the  forests  until  the  advent 
of  calamities,  which  thoughtful  con- 
sideration of  the  subject  would  avert. 
And  as  the  Old  World  holds  out  the  beacon 
light  of  danger  ahead,  so  must  we  look  to 
her  for  the  remedy.  The  care  of  the  forests 
in  all  European  countries  is  now  a  matter  of 
governmental  concern.  But  six  of  them  now 
possess  more  than  25  per  cent,  of  land  in  for- 
est growth,  and  only  four  of  them,  Norway 
and  Sweedea,  Russia,  Germany  and  Belgium, 
yield  more  than  they  consume.  The  leading 
governments  of  Europe  to-day  are  tree- 
planting  on  an  extensive  si-ale,  endeavoring 
to  protect  especially  the  forest  growth  at  the 
head  waters  of  the  principal  strearrs,  and  to 
introduce  in  every  way  possible  the  most 
economical  management  and  reform.  In 
some  of  the  United  States  there  is  now  less 
land  in  forest  growth  than  the  rule  of  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy  required,  one-third  to  the 
hunter,  two-thirds  to  the  husbandman,  The 
rule  of  William  Penn,  one  acre  in  woods  for 
five  acres  in  tillage,  exclusive  of  the  wooded 
hills  and  mountain  forests,  is  not  as  yet,  per- 
haps, materially  lessened. 

The  feature  most  essential  to  the  efiicient 
working  of  these  forest  departments  of  State, 
as  well  as  perhaps  most  striking  to  Ameri 
cans,  is  the  system  of  forest  schools.  There 
are  thirty-five  of  these  schools  in  Europe.  In 
these  continental  schools  the  student  may 
learn  how  to  draw  from  the  forest  the  quick- 
est returns,  and  how  to  replace,  in  the  most 
certain  and  quickest  manner,  what  these 
forests  should  produce  annually;  he  will 


likewise  learn  how  to  build  up  the  scarifie 
hillside  with  a  growth  of  trees  and  shrubs; 
how  bare  and  desolate  plains  may  be  re- 
clothed  with  verdure,  and  impoverished  soils 
so  treated  as  to  support  a  successful  system 
of  agriculture. 

England,  owing  to  her  insular  position  and 
a  variety  of  natural  advantages,  has  been  en- 
abled to  destroy  her  forests  with  impunity  to 
accomodate  the  wants  of  a  growing  popula- 
tion, and  yet  she  feels  no  inconvenience 
therefrom.  She  has  in  their  stesd,  however, 
all  the  accompaniments  of  a  diversified  agri- 
culture. She  has  magnificent  parks,  every 
variety  of  tree  growth,  magnificeatly  devel- 
oped and  arranged,  her  green  valleys  and 
leafy  knolls  are  pleasing  to  the  lover  of 
natural  and  artistic  beauty,  but  she  has  not  a 
single  forest  in  the  continental  accceptiou  of 
the  term.  The  Britisher  must  look  to 
England's  Colonial  possessions  to  learn  how 
to  manage  forest  property.  But  in  India, 
Britain  has  the  finest  forestry  system  in  the 
world. 

In  France  and  in  Germany  the  care  of  the 
forests  constitutes  a  department,  the  magni- 
tude of  whose  operations  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  besides  the  work  in  the 
Alps'  provinces  and  elsewhere,  a  forest,  150 
miles  long  and  ten  miles  wido,  has  been 
formed  along  the  sand  dunes  of  the  western 
coast,  by  which  millions  of  acres  were  re- 
claimed and  made  arable.  Looking  at  home, 
we  find  that  very  little  has  been  done  to 
preserve  and  restore  forest  lands;  and  worst 
of  all  that  total  ignorance  of  the  interests 
involved  is  well  nigh  universal.  '  The  forest 
lands  of  the  United  States  amount  to  less 
than  one-fourth  of  the  entire  are*.  The 
proportion  of  wooded  area  is  less  than  in 
Eastern,  Northern  and  Central  Europe,  and 
is  very  unequally  distributed.  Norway  has 
two-thirds  of  the  area  wooded,  Sweden  six- 
tenths,  Kussia  one-third  and  Germany  one- 
fourth.  Spain  is  the  only  European 
country  that  makes  no  provision 
for  its  forests.  The  Spaniard's  hatred 
of  a  tree  is  proverbial,  and  they  have  re- 
duced their  once  beautiful  and  fertile  coun- 
try to  one  renowned  for  its  extreme  aridity. 
Generally  speaking,  the  American  views  this 
question  in  one  of  two  aspects:  First,  as 
affording  means  for  great  and  rapid  profit; 
and,  second,  as  obstacles  to  the  culture  of 
the  ground.  Yet  a  broader  knowledge  of 
such  matters  is  beginning  to  bear  its  inevit- 
able result.  We  may  diagnose  two  phases  of 
growing  interest  in  the  matter.  In  the  older 
States,  the  once-grandly  woode  i  hills  being 
deforested,  and  the  people  being  awakened 
to  the  serious  consequences  resulting  there- 
from, considerable  efiort  is  being  put  forth 


PAPERS   HEAD    BEFORE   THE   ASSOCIATION. 


25 


to  make  new  plantations,  and  to  save  what  notions  as  appeal  to  individuals;  of  these  the 
already  exists.  In  the  treeless  regions  of  the  j  most  powerful  is  self-interest.  Let  it  be 
West  different  motives  are  at  work.  The  known  that  it  pays  a  man  to  preserve  his 
pressing  necessity  for  protection  against  woodland,  or  to  plant  out  trees  for  profit,  and 
wind,  as  well  as  the  great  difficulty  of  procur-  j  the  future  of  our  forests  is  assured  and  se- 
ing  fuel,  has  led  Legislatures  to  encourage 
the  planting  of  tree  belts  and  groves 
by  liberal  grants  of  land,  by  remission 
of  taxes,  by  payment  of  bounties, 
and  by  setting  apart  one  day  in  each  year  for 
the  purpose  of  tree  planting.  Arbor  Day 

originated  in  Nebraska  through  the  State  |  pecuniary  interest.  This  argument  success- 
Board  of  Agriculture  petitioning  Che  Legis-  i  fully  applied  to  any  subject  will  commend  it 
lature  to  set  aside  one  day  for  tree  plantiag.  -  to  the  public  ear,  endear  it  to  the  public 
This  Board  of  Agriculture  annually  awards  i  heart.  The  f  .ct  that  rnor^e  money  is  involved 
liberal  premiums  for  the  greatest  number  of  j  ™  the  tree  question  than  in  any  other  inter- 
trees,  cuttings  and  seeds  permanently  planted  est  in  our  country,  should  clearly  enlist  pub- 
lic sympathies  in  favor  of  arbor  culture. 


cure.  Notwithstanding  the  importance 
which  a  philanthropist  or  general  economist 
may  give  to  the  arboreal  industries  in  a 
money  getting  country  and  among  a  mining 
people,  there  is  still  an  argument  more  po- 
tent, in  fact,  all  powerful — the  argument  of 


on  that  day.  Later  ths  idea  was  taken  up 
by  the  Forestry  Association  of  Minnesota 
and  later  still  by  the  people  of  Kansas,  Iowa, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  Ohio  and  Dakota.  The 
idea,  too,  has  been  looked  upon  favorably  by 
some  foreign  countries,  and  lastly  our  own 
State  has  taken  her  position  in  behalf  of  this 
cause.  Very  much  has  been  said  and  written 
about  tree  planting  for  posterity,  and  a  capi- 
tal sentiment  it  is,  but  I  must  record  the  fact 
that  the  average  American  citizen  cares  but 
little  for  the  generations  yet  to  come.  What 
exercises  him  most  in  this  connection  is  will 
the  trees  he  plants  benefit  men  in  his  time? 
Future  generations  he  expects  to  provide 
their  own  shade.  The  forestry  problem  in- 
this  country  is  indeed  a  serious  one.  There 
now  remains  in  the  United  States  but  oue 
vast  tract  of  timber  yet  untouched,  that  of 
Oregon  and  Washington  Territory.  The 
nature  of  our  General  Government  precludes 
the  possibility  of  such  action  as  would  be  ef- 
fective and  possible  under  the  paternal  forms 
of  European  governments.  In  a  republic  it 
is  an  extremely  difficult  matter  to  secure  the 
attention  of  the  masses  of  the  people  in  fa- 


Here  is  work  for  practical  horticulturists 
all  over  this  land,  and  here  is  work,  too,  for 
the  State,  the  Nation,  and  the  municipalities. 
Our  agricultural  population  is  not  easily  con- 
vinced of  the  necessity  for  tree  planting^  Its 
benefits  are  too  vague,  the  profics  too  pros- 
pective, to  cause  them  to  look  with  enthusi- 
asm on  what  seems  a  doubtful  undertaking. 
Still,  in  this  respect,  too,  it  is  a  pleasure  to 
note  that  public  opinion  is  fast  changing,  ex- 
periments in  sylvaculture  are  being  made  on 
a  sufficiently  broad  scale  to  promise  the  most 
gratifying  results,  and  it  is  highly  probable 
that  at  no  distant  day,  when  its  benefits  are 
understood,  this  b  anch  of  agriculture  will 
receive  at  the  hands  of  farmers  the  attention 
its  importance  demands. 

A  great  deal  of  influene  has  been  ascribed 
to  trees  in  relation  to  atmospheric  moistuie, 
but  the  opinion  is  now  gaining  ground  that 
this  influence  has  been  much  exaggerated. 


The  truth  probably  is  that  trees  favorably 
effect  the  earth's  surface  and  the  sub-^oil. 
Forests  may  influence  the  rain-fall  in  two 
ways:  First  —  By  constant  evaporation 

vor  of  any  great  and  wholesome  ^innovation,  i  through  their  leaves  they  may  have  a  ten- 
Our  State  Legislature  readily  concede  the  I  dency  to  bring  air  in  their  immediate  vicin- 
importance  of  the  Fishery  question  and  the  ity.  nearer  to  the  point  of  saturation,  and  so 
water  power,  but  they  rarely  recognize  the  j  induce  a  saturated  air-current  to  yield  its 
importance  of  the  forestry  question,  which  moisture,  if  any  difference  'n  temperature 
underlies  both  those  and  all  other  industries,  occur  between  the  two  currents.  Second— The 
We  believe  this  question  of  the  protection  of  [  leaves  being  covered  by  evaporation  of  water 
our  Eocky  Mountain  forest  resources  comes  I  present  a  surface  that  would  readily  attract 
exactly  within  the  purview  of  legitimate  moisture  from  passing  air,  and  thus  secure 
legislation.  Of  course  private  ownership  is  |  water  for  that  portion  so  covered  by  forest, 
and  must  ever  be  the  rule,  and  we  would  not 
tolerate,  much  else  would  we  de- 
sire, such  interference  with  individual 


liberty  as  the  fostering  governments  of  Eu- 
rope exercise.  But  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
monarchies  alone  are  competent  to  guard  and 
preserve  physical  nature,  so  that  it  may  yield 
its  sustenance  in  one  unbroken  round.  Evi- 
dently our  principle  reliance  is  upon  such 


But  forest  growth,  if  it  doesn't  influence 
the  rainfall  in  a  general  or  local  way,  has  a 
marked  influence  in  regulating  in  availabil- 
ity for  the  needs  of  agriculture.  The  foliage 
of  the  trees  of  the  woodland  certainly  miti- 
gate the  force  of  the  wind  storm  by  breaking 
it  up  into  currents  of  lesser  force,  compelling 
the  rains  to  percolate  gradually  through  the 
moss  and  leaf-covered  humus,  to  be  gradually- 


26 


PAPERS  READ   BEFORE   THE  ASSOCIATION. 


Driven  oft*  by  retarded  evaporation,  the  sur- 
plus finding  its  way  to  swell  the  volume  of 
the  great  rivers.  On  the  open  .  vlains  the 
rain  storm  descends  on  a  surface  already  im- 
tactcd  by  previous  rains  and  the  fervid  heat; 
of  the  sun.  Water  will  not  penetrate  such  a 
surface,  but  rushes  madly  down  its  slopes  to 
swell  the  brooks  and  rivers,  and  instead  of 
being  &  blessing  to  the  earth,  is  a  very  demon 
in  scarifying  and  wasting  it.  In  reflecting 
for  a  moment  it  is  easy  to  see  how  forests  are 
a  preventive  of  floods.  Practical  foresters 
ktiow  that  woods  generate  springs,  and  that 
the  soil  in  woods  is  often  dry  when  the  same 
ground  in  the  open  would  be  swampy.  Trees 
produce  both  these  con  trad  ictofy  effects  by 
means  of  their  roots  boring  into  the  soil,  and 
so  enabling  water  to  reach  lower 
level  whence  springs  take  their 
rise,  and.  again  by  continually 
absorbing  quantities  of  water  by  their  roots, 
they  act  as  subsoil  drains  and  keep  the  surface 
from  becoming  sodden.  In  forest  countries 
the  cbanges  of  temperature  are  greatly  modi- 
fied by  the  presence  of  timber,  and  the  effect 
upon  water  and  the  development  of  the  fish 
industries  is  even  greater.  Forests  regulate 
the  flow  of  water  as  well  as  purify  it,  which 
fact  has  been  frequently  noticed  in  Australia 
whe*j  streams  have  been  polluted  by  the 
wool  cleansing  industry.  Such  streams,  after 
passing  through  a  dense  forest,  will  appear 
as  clear  as  it  was  above  the  wool  wash. 

The  office  of  trees  in  relation  to  terrestrial 
and  atmospheric  moisture  may  be  summar- 
rized  as  follows: 

First — Tb^y  help  counteract  the  effects  of 
lonir  summer  droughts,  by  the  transpira- 
tion of  water  through  their  leaves,  and  by 
their  foliage  and  branches  protect  decaying 
vegetation  which  acts  as  a  mulch  to  the 
earth's  surface. 

Second — They  prevent  dangerous  floods  by 
holding  the  gentle  rain  in  abeyance  until  it 
has  had  time  to  penetrate  the  earth's  sur- 
face. 

Third — The  water  thus  reaching  a  lower 
level  by  means  of  the  boring  power  of  the 
roots,  collects,  and  forms  springs. 

Fourth  -Some  trees  absorb  vast  quantities 
of  water,  as  the  eucalypte,  and  thus  act  as 
sub-soil  drains. 

Fifth— By  preventing  the  accumulation  of 
bodies  of  water  on  the  earth's  surface  the  re- 
moval of  valuable  soil  is  prevented;  and,  last- 
ly, as  wind  breaks  and  shelter  belts,  especially 
in  large  quantities,  they  equalize  temperature, 
both  in  summer  and  winter,  and  at  the  same 
time  add  to  the  value  of  any  farm  so  protected. 
And  this  is  not  all,  much  more  can  be  said 
of  the  relation  trees  bear  to  the  economy  of 
nature.  Trees  are  intimately  associated  with 


the  welfare  of  their  fellow  plants  of  the 
lower  animals  and  of  man.  There  is  proba- 
bly no  way  in  which  the  farmers  of  this 
State  could  more  easily  or  more  rapidly  in- 
crease its  agricultural  product  ihan  by 
planting  shelter  belts  to  the  north  and  west 
of  their  farms.  They  would,  of  course,  be  too 
limited  in  extent  and  too  widely  scattered  to 
have  any  general  influence  on  our 
climate,  or  the  flow  of  the  water 
courses,  but  as  a  means  of  direct  profit  it  does 
not  seem  unreasonable  to  predict  that  each 
protection  to  our  fields  would  increase  the 
profits  of  tlieir  culture  fully  20  per  cent. 
Orchards  thus  protected  would  have  their 
conditions  measurably  improved,  and  all 
horticulturists  know  that  plants  generally 
supposed  to  be  too  tender  for  an  open,  airy 
situation  will  thrive  when  planted  under  the 
protection  of  a  wall  or'  among  trees.  What 
garden  walls  are  to  the  horticulturist  these 
plantations  ought  to  be  and  would  be  to  the 
farmer.  The  subject  of  the  proper  distribu- 
tion of  fruit  trees  in  their  relation  to  climate 
may  well  engage  the  attention  of  the  agri- 
culturist, for  although  in  the  main  his  suc- 
cess depends  upon  the  action  of  forces  which 
he  cannot  control,  the  distribution  of 
moisture  is  dependent  upon  conditions 
which  he  may  determine  to  a  limited  extent, 
according  to  his  will.  Excess  of  forest  in 
some  parts  of  our  country  ana.  their  en- 
tire absence  in  others  are  alike  unde- 
sirable. The  early  explorers  might  well 
call  these  plains  the  American  Desert. 
It  is  susceptible  of  proof,  however, 
that  its  limits  are  gradually  receding 
with  the  advance  of  civilization,  the  break- 
ing up  of  the  prairie  soil,  and  the  gradual 
planting  of  timber  trees  and  shrubbery.  All 
the  evidence  that  can  be  obtained  goes  to 
show  that  the  grass  covered  area  is  getting 
larger;  the  cactus,  artemisia  and  buffalo  grass 
are  surely  disappearing.  This  very  fact  of 
the  tall  grasses  taking  the  place  of  the  short, 
crisp  and  dense  buffalo  grass,  explains  why 
our  American  Desert  is  so  rapidly  disappear- 
ing, and  why  grateful  showers  reward  the 
labors  of  the  husbandman.  Small  as  this 
change  in  the  herbage  may  seem  to  some,  it 
is  not  without  its  significance  to  the  observer 
of  the  phenomena  of  nature.  As  to  general 
climatic  changes  that  need  not  concern  us  at 
this  moment,  it  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that 
we  can  measurably  ameliorate  our  local  sur- 
roundings by  plantations  of  trees,  and  this  is 
what  is  most  desired,  that  every  landholder 
mn,y  protect  himself  and  his  possessions  from 
the  untoward  influences  of  wind  and  weather. 
The  functions  that  the  forests  perform  in  the 
economy  of  nature  are  many '  and  varied. 
They  are  the  great  fertilizers  of  the  soil,while 


PAPERS   BEAD   BEFORE   THE   ASSOCIATION. 


27 


"their  value  to  us  for  economic  purposes  can- 
not be  overestimated;  they  are,  in  fact,  the 
foundation  of  every  industry.  The  ancient 
philosophers  had  an  axiom  which  the  pro- 
gress of  time  and  scientific  thought  has  not 
disproved,  that  "Nature  abhors  a  vacuum." 
Wherever  man  has  adopted  such  agricultural 
methods  as  have  resulted  in  the  sterility  of 
his  land,  and  his  own  forced  abandonment 
thereof  is  the  consequence,  we  see  Nature  en- 
deavoring by  means  of  the  humble  lichen, 
the  sedge  and  myriads  of  similar  auxiliaries, 
which  soon  set  in,  and  in  their  successive 
growth  and  decay,  establish  a  nidus  by  which 
the  development  of  the  mighty  oak  is  ren- 
dered possible.  This  is  the  round 
of  organic  life  (if  conditions  be  fav- 
orable) so  often  observed,  and  is  suggestive 
to  us  of  th  is  much  that  in  the  successive  growth 
and  decay  of  plant  life  we  must  recognize 
the  salvation  of  the  soil  from  sterility.  In 
re-pect  to  the  profitableness  of  tree  culture 
in  most  of  the  prairie  States  so  many  facts 
could  he  adduced,  established  by  actual  trial, 
as  to  convince  the  most  skeptical.  In  this 
State  we  are  too  young  in  forest  planting,  as 
yet  to  have  determined  more  than  a  few 
years'  growth,  but  even  this  is  quite  encour- 
aging, as  what  has  been  done  on  a  small 
scale  may  surely  be  accomplished  on  a  much 
larger  one.  We  know  but  little  as  yet  of  the 
possibilities  of  these  plains  for  the  produc- 
tion of  tree  growth  under  improved  methods  j 
of  culture.  Yet  it  is  worth  much  to  us  to  j 
know  I  hat  we  don't.  Some  men  know  it  all  I 
in  the  various  branches  of  human  knowledge, 
though  perhaps  some  may  be  suffi- 
ciently modest  to  admit  that  they 
are  'iot  quite  thoroughly  versed 
in  matters  that  concern  the  pursuits  of  others. 
It  will  indeed  have  been  happy  for  us  in  this 
new  field  of  investigation  if  we  can  have 
progressed  to  this  point  safely;  that  taere  are 
some  things  in  regard  to  forestry  generally, 
but  especially  oa  these  plains,  that  are  as  yet 
a  sealed  book  to  us;  and  further  it  is  hoped  that 
we  shall  set  about  finding  out  from  this  day 
on  what  that  new  field  is  about  which  we  are 
so  ignorant  in  the  premises,  and  this  can- only 
be  accomplished  by  the  heartiest  ''ndividual 
and  collective  efforts.  First,  there  is  work 
here  for  and  by  the  people;  second,  there  is 
work  here  too  for  and  by  the  Agricultural 
Colleges;  and  third,  there  is  work  here  for 
and  by  the  State  through  the  Legislature, 
Colorado  is  but  a  young  State,  but  she  has  a 
full  complement  of  young,  men  who  will  fol- 
low your  lead  in  this  matter  of  tree  planting, 
and  thus  early  secure  an  interest  in  them; 
and  we  may  thus  rest  assured  of  success. 
The  best  laws  remain  dead,  the  best  coun- 
sels are  preached  to  deaf  ears  if  the  youth  of 


the  land  be  not  enlisted  in  favor  of  every 
good  and  wholesome  innovation. 

Every  person  should  be  familiar  with  the 
appearance  of  trees  under  all  circumstances, 
in  summer  and  winter,  standing  erect  or 
prostrate  on  the  ground;  or  when  worked  up 
by  the  artificer  int'>  any  of  the  secondary 
and  ultimate  forms  to  which  trees  may  be 
applied.  All  trees  a^d  plants  possess  pecu- 
Ifarities  of  trunk,  branch,  stem,  twig,  buds 
and  seeds,  and  we  should  know  the  by 
their  peculiarities.  Thers  is  a  broad  field 
here  for  investigation,  through  the  intricate 
labyrinths  of  which  we  may  wander  at  will, 
always  finding  something  to  excite  our  de- 
sire 'for  knowledge.  From  the  meanest 
weed  to  the  gigantic  eucalyptus  there  are  in- 
fluences at  work  upon  the  soil  beneath  us, 
and  in  the  air  abo^e  us,  the  silent  working 
of  which  to  us  we  never  notice.  Tree-plant- 
ing, too,  is  fitted  to  give  the  juvenile  mind 
a  useful  lesson  in  forethought.  Living  only 
in  the  present,  and  for  the  present,  too  often 
youth  will  only  sow  where  they  can  quickly 
reap.  Youth  should  learn  to  forecast  the 
future  as  the  condition  of  wisdom.  Arbori- 
culture is  such  a  discipline. 

We  are  but  tenants  of  this  beautiful  earth, 
and  so  have  no  right  to  trench  on  the  in- 
heritance of  others,  but  rather  it  is  a  duty  in- 
cumbent on  all  patriotic  citizens  to  have  this 
earth  better  for  our  having  occupied  it  our 
allotted  time.  The  great  lessons  inculcated 
by  the  facts  of  history  for  the  benefit  of  man 
is  that  he  is  endowed  with  ability  to  become 
an  ametiveating  agent  of  the  earth;  that  he, 
within  certain  limi  s,  can  control  the  ele- 
ments and  make  them  minister  to  his  wel- 
fare and  happiness,  by  planting  trees  where 
they  have  been  destroyed  or  where  absent, 
and  thus  realize  the  truth  of  Mohamed's  ben- 
ediction: "Blessed  is  the  man  that  planteth 
a  tree."  In  an  aesthetic  point  of  view,  trees 
cannot  be  too  highly  extolled,  as  they  give 
an  added  charm  and  beauty  to  the 
landscape  that  nothing  else  in  nature  can 
bestow.  There  is  no  other  agency  of 
nature  which  is  so  intimately  connected 
with  all  that  is  worth  living  for,  so 
necessary  to  the  contiued  fertility  of  the 
soil,  as  the  trees  of  the  forest.  Says  Wash- 
ington Irving:  "There  is  something  nobly 
simple  and  pure  i  a  taste  for  trees."  It  argues 
a  generous  nature  to  have  this  strong  friend- 
ship for  the  hardy  son  of  the  forest.  He 
who  ptants  an  oak  looks  forward  to  the 
future,  and  plants  for  posterity.  He  cannot 
expect  to  enjoy  its  shelter,  but  he  exults  iu 
the  consciousness  of  the  fact  that  he  has  ac- 
complished an  unselfish  act.  It  was  the  tr«  es 
of  his  own  planting  more  than  the  beauties  of 
surrounding  landscape  that  bound  Irving  to 


28 


PAPERS   READ   BEFORE   THE   ASSOCIATION. 


the  Hudson.  It  was  the  simple  beauty  that 
Webster  created  at  Marshfield  —  the  smooth 
lawns  and  shady  approaches  that  bound  him 
so  strongly  to  that  sequestered  spot.  The 
charin  of  Abbotsford,  the  gmnd  Mecca  of  i 
Scott,  and  comes  mainly  from  its  ivy  clad 
walls,  beautiful  shrubbery,  and  the  now 
majestic  trees,planted  by  the  hand  of  its  illus-  ! 
trious  owner.  An  American,  whose  thoughts 
drop  like  sparkling  gems,  has  put  in  my  way 
the  worr's  that  so  beautifully  express  the 
emotions  that  should  animate  every  citizen 
of  the  State.  "If  I  have  no  coaches  and 
horses,  I  can  at  least  have  a  tracery  of  vine 
leaves  along  my  porch,  so  exquisitely  deli- 
cate, that  no  sculptor  can  imitate  it,  and  if  I 
have  no  conservatory  with  their  wonders, 
yet  the  sun  and  I  together  can  build  up  a 
little  tangled  coppice  of  blooming  things  in 
my  door  yard,  of  which  every  tiny  floral 
leaflet  shall  be  a  miracle.  Nay,  I  may  make 
my  home,  however  small  it  may  be,  so  com- 
plete in  its  simplicity,  so  fitted  to  its  oflices, 
so  governed  by  neatness,  so  embowored  by 
wealth  of  leaf  and  flowei,  that  no  riches  in 
the  world  could  add  to  it  without  damaging 
its  rural  grace  and  beauty,  and  my  garden- 
ers— sunshine,  frost  and  showers  are  their 
name — shall  work  for  me  with  no  crusty  re- 


luctance, but  rather  with  an  abandon  and  a 
zeal  that  asks  only  gratitude  for  pay." 

May  the  beautiful  thought  conveyed  in  the 
above  words  prove  to  be  the  monitor  of  every 
citizen  of  this  State,  that  we  may  the  >rore 
quickly  realize  the  work  before  us  to-day;  so 
that  the  almost  boundless  expanse  of  prairie 
by  which  we  are  surrounded,  and  which  is 
terminated  only  by  the  distant  horizon,  shall 
have  its  due  proportion  of  tree  growth,  and 
this  fair  land  clothed  with  fruitful  farms, 
the  abiding  place  of  a  grand  civilization. 
The  preservation  and  planting  of  forests  is  a- 
duty  we  owe  to  posterity  and  to  our  ancestors 
who  left  us  the  picturesque  elm,  the  mighty 
oak  and  other  denizens  of  the  forest. 

May  we  in  the  future  so  perform  that  duty 
as  to  be  qualified  to  utter  the  beautiful  senti- 
ment of  the  poet  Whittier  in  the  following 
lines: 

"Give  fools  their  gold  and  knaves  their  power, 
Let  fortune's  bubbles  rise  and  fall; 
Who  sows  a  field  or  trains  a  flower, 
Or  plants  a  tree  is  more  than  all. 

"For  he  who  blesses  most  is  blest; 
And  God  and  man  shall  own  his  worth 
Who  toils  to  leave  as  his  bequest; 
An  added  beauty  to  the  earth. 


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